The Department of Special Collections and Archives houses a variety of collections in the book arts, including typographic books, artists' books, small press books, fine bindings, fine press books, and even sculptural bookworks. Steve MacLeod, Public Services Coordinator in Special Collections & Archives, has worked with a number of faculty and lecturers in the last year to teach Studio Art students about these books and works of art.

The main focus of recent interest has been on the collection of 400-500 artists' books, mostly from American artists, but many others from Europe, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. What is an "artists' book?" "Many attempts to define artists' book have been put forth, but most are in some way flawed," MacLeod says. "Definitions are invariably too specific or too broad. Suffice it to say that book artists do not succumb to the conventions of the traditional medium of the book, but look to what the medium might become. The art form continues to evolve and expand rapidly, and a specific definition acceptable to all has yet to surface."

Artists' books have been showcased in courses such as Visual Culture, Digital Typography and Communication, Issues in Feminism, and Digital Imaging. The classroom experiences facilitated by MacLeod have varied from simply exposing students to exciting new art forms to explaining various approaches to book structures and design.

"It is tremendously exciting and rewarding to play even a small part in the process of stimulating young artists to create. My experiences in these Studio Art classes have been some of the most interesting of my career," says MacLeod. "I hope that the success of these recent classes will bring forth new opportunities for further collaborations with Studio Art and with other faculty as well. Many of the artists' books that we collect contain literary texts, while others bring unique and challenging perspectives to social, cultural and political issues. These materials could quite easily be incorporated into a much wider range of classes."

Steve MacLeod, Public Services Coordinator in Special Collections & Archives, can be contacted at 949.824.4967 or smacleod@uci.edu.