Since the spoken word was transcribed into the written word, books have been our primary means of conveying information. The book, a sequence of related pages filled with words and images, offers the artist a broad platform to explore themes and visual concepts.

As distinct from illustration, Artist Books permit the artist a greater degree of freedom to interpret, expand or even deviate from the text using representation, abstraction or sculptural elements.

The Artist Books in this exhibition are composed of text accompanied by drawings, collages, or prints, including etchings, drypoints made from X-ray film, and direct transfer monoprints.

The relationship of text to image can vary. In some books, the text may be suggested by the artwork. In others, the images are imaginative renderings of pre-existing text or the text and image may evolve simultaneously. Text and image should create a unity and synergy without narrowly defining one another.

In telling a story, the images and text must be adjusted to each other to maintain the plot sequence and its dramatic energy.

Bookmaking is a collaborative effort. Master printmaker Kathy Caraccio prints my drypoints and etchings, and master bookbinder Richard Hackett of Tactile Press custom binds the pages and constructs the boxes.

Additional Artist Books and artwork can be seen on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or at Marcshanker.com.