藝術家與書的對話－－表現形式與思考

Artists' Books Expression and Contemplation

藝術是人類文明的結晶，在不同時期，出現不同的傳統藝術作品，以不同方式，呈現人類文明的精神生活。本文旨在引導如何認識「藝術家的書」，從歷史文化脈絡裡，分析它們如何透過不同的形式和內容，來跟所處的時代做一種對照。那什麼是「藝術家的書」，我們可以說是文字、圖像以及一些裝飾性的設計等，因為「藝術家的書」是藝術家利用書這個媒介物所製得的創作品，也就是藝術家將自己所要表達的想法，在書的形式精神上，運用不同的表現技法，而創作完成的作品。最早書的材料，都取自於自然界，如：石塊、樹皮、樹葉、獸皮、獸骨及甲殼等等，直到紙的出現，他兼具有輕便、柔軟及低廉的長處，於是很快的成為書最主要的材料。在歷經逐字逐本的抄寫，到中國木版雕刻的發展和歐洲的銅版雕刻和石版版畫的歷史的演進，再進化到現在的大眾印刷。這些技術經由傳教士，民間版畫家，藝術家的介入，從單調的過程，逐漸地發現與暸解如何製作出一本書，並不斷開發與創造，書的另一種的可能性。書，一直是被認定具有獨特性的，它專門為那些已用手書寫或印刷完成的文字紙張，聚集編排，經過縫製或裝訂製作而成的，因為結合了製作書的材質元素，再透過我們的眼睛呈現，讓我可以在重新回顧，並且產生新的看法及可能產生出來新的定義。就在這多元文化激盪的後現代，處於科技與多元媒材充斥氛圍下的現代美術，其表現題材和方法可謂千變萬化。在近三十多年來，世界各地所舉行的國際性書展，或一些地方性的書展，隨著藝術家的介入，已經不是只有在販賣傳統模式的書，更有很多年輕的藝術家嘗試一些新媒材及新的語彙來創作，使書的藝術的表現內容更加活躍。運用多種媒材傳達個人思想與情感，書變成了現代造形藝術的最佳表現形式之一。以及在藝術展覽會上也出現Artist's Book展示區，很多都已經不再侷限於紙本的觀念，有些藝術家則會以自己本身的創作，類似開發商品般的發展出一些有趣、更易收藏的作品。日本的藝術評論家暮澤剛已面對現在的日本藝術出版品，在artscape上發表了「藝術出版觀賞論」，強調現在的藝術出版品已經不再限於「閱讀」，而完完全全地像在美術館展覽中被「觀賞」。所以現今書的表現已超越傳統方法的束縛，強調以當下社會經驗及個人心靈生活，來傳達各地方之人文內涵，展現出無窮的希望與遠景。這些，對當代藝術產生了巨大的變化，以及各種思想潮流的改變及科學迅速演進，也豐富了當代藝術家的書良好的發展趨勢。今天，無論是「藝術家的書」的語言重新思考或深入的研究，還是傳統書的革新及推廣，都調整生存現況和生存條件，面對書的藝術新的到來。所以，我們對於當代「藝術家的書」進行整理，紀錄，與展示，目的是在一個多元文化社會的到來之時，推廣藝術的書，這樣具有大眾性的，且具有深厚文化底蘊的藝術，也是對書的藝術內涵的多方位思考，借鏡歷史的經驗來探索「藝術家的書」將來的可能性，如何適應時代的發展「藝術家的書」以及如何開拓新的起點，是我們現在的一個重要課題。

Art is the fruit of human civilization. In each age, various traditional art works served to represent spirit life of human civilization in varied manners. This paper intends to introduce the “Artists' Books” to you and analyze how these books contrast with the ages they were produced through various forms and contents, from the context of historical culture. What are “Artists' Books”? We can say they are books of writing, images, and some decorative designs. They are artists' creations produced through the medium “Book.” Artists expressed their ideas in the form of book through various expression techniques to create their works. In ancient ages before paper was invented, material of books were all obtained from the nature, such as rocks, barks, tree leaves, animal skins and bones, crusts, ets. Paper soon dominated after it had been invented due to its advantages such as lightness, softness, and inexpensiveness. The developmental history of book began from transcribing word by word and book by book to xylography in China and copperplate engraving and lithography in Europe, and to contemporary mass printing. These techniques were mediated by ecclesiastics, civil graphic artists, and other artists. They started with simple process and gradually found how to make books, and through constant development and creation they found another potentiality of books. Books are known to have uniqueness. They are specifically made, sewed, and bound through compiling handwritten or printed paper of texts. This combined material elements of books and represented them through our eyes, enabling us to review them and thus yield new views and any potential definition. In the post-modern ear, where multi-culture surges, and in the atmosphere, where technology and multi-media of modern art floods, material and expression methods of modern arts are namely kaleidoscopic. In the past thirty-odd years, many international or local book exhibitions were taken place, where through participation of artists not merely traditional books were presented but also creations made of new media and vocabulary by artists, especially young artists. This has made expression contents of arts even more active. By using various media materials to transmit individual thinking and feeling, books have become the best expression type among modern plastic arts. At the Art Exposition you can see the Artist's Book division, where artists present their creation with the view which doesn't restrict to hard copy, and some of them develop works which are interesting and convenient for preservation in commercially alike manners. Koresawa, a Japanese art critic, has emphasized in his “Comment on Appreciation of Art Publication”, published in artscape, that art publication is no more limited to be “read”, but completely “appreciated” the same way as in the art gallery. Therefore modern books have overcome the constraint of traditional methods, and have emphasized to transmit local humanity content through current social experience and individual spirit life so as to display broad hope and prospects. This has led to tremendous changes for contemporary art, changes for various thought trends and rapid evolution of science, and has also provided books of contemporary artists with rich developing trends. Nowadays, language rethink or in-depth research of “Artists' Books”, or revolution and promotion of traditional books, can adjust survival state and condition to welcome new arrival of art books. Therefore, our purpose of working on, recording and presenting the contemporary “Artists' Books”is to introduce the art books with nature of mass and profound culture deposit, and to think about art content from multi-aspect. We also learned from historical experience to explore potential of “Books of Artists” in adapting development of the era and exploit a new start. This is our object for the moment.