3. Artist Inspiration: Lisa Kokin
I alter, appropriate, and combine
text from books about religion,
history, self-help, business and
sociopolitical ideology. I am
fascinated by the random
juxtapositions of words that
occur when parts of text are
removed to create other stories,
or when texts from two sources
such as business and religion
are combined. It gives me great
pleasure to subvert the original
meanings of books which were
written to keep people in their
place, and to do it with humor
and levity.
4. What is an altered book?
Sometimes referred to as artist books or book sculptures, an altered book is a
form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a
different form, altering its appearance and/or meaning. An altered book artist
takes a book and modifies it in any of various ways, such as cutting, tearing or
folding, or embedding objects.
Altered books are technically a type of artist books, because artist books
encompass a very wide range of works. Altered books always start with an
already published book that is then transformed into the artwork.
5. Artist Inspiration:Terry Braunstein
For the past 40 years,Terry Braunstein’s world of montage has been a discovery of deep truths hidden behind
layers of seemingly disparate images—both ancient and modern. Braunstein is a philosopher as well as an artist
— her creative weave of archetypes and ancient myths coupled with modern images found in the contemporary
magazine sitting on our living room coffee table, gives us profound insight.The juxtaposition is often surprising
and even humorous, reflecting how our own private, mundane world is actually connected to all of humanity, and
how our life passages and experiences reflect universal themes.
6. What are ways that artists turn books into an artwork?
• Create a poem or sentence within the text
by blocking out certain words and only
exposing some.
• Draw an image over the text that addresses
the content of the book.
• Cut out shapes from one page that allow
you to see through to the next page
• Paint white over a page and use it as a
journal or writing surface/blank canvas
• Label an existing illustration
• Elaborate on or embellish an existing
illustration
• Sew pages together in an interesting way
• Embroider into your book
• Write down a stream of consciousness
• Draw the first thing that pops into your brain
• Glue pages together and carve into them
• Record observations from everyday life
through words or pictures
• Carve out the center of multiple pages to
create a compartment in which you can
store something
• Collage found images from magazines/
other books
• Paste in a drawing of yours from a separate
sheet of paper
• Make a decorative frame out of paper or
any other material and frame a section of
text or imagery that you are drawn to
• Vent about something through writing or
imagery
• Doodle with pen
• Cut up a page and rearrange it
• Fold the pages in an interesting way
• Create a pop-up scene using cutouts
• Paint/Draw something that relates to a
class project as practice
• Glue found materials into your book
7. Artist Inspiration: Kerry Miller
After many years of working in collage and mixed media, I began exploring ways of using old, discarded books, experimenting
with deconstructing and rebuilding them to produce unique pieces of artwork. The books are variously sourced and carefully
selected for their illustrations and character, whilst taking into account my perception of the finished piece. I take pleasure from
the fact that I can make use of books in a condition which most people would dismiss as unusable. For each sculpture I work on,
only the illustrations found within the book(s) are used. Adding colour using inks, watercolours and acrylics, enriches and
enhances the final effect, giving a sense of depth and energy. These intricately worked 3D books provide tantalising glimpses
into a rich past, becoming miniature worlds, allowing the viewer to simply tumble into them. As technology threatens to replace
the printed word, there has never been a better time to reimagine the book.
8. Project Requirements
• Over the course of the year, you will
transform an existing book physically and
conceptually into a work of art
• Your altered book does not need to have a
unified theme, but each section must have
a concept to support it
• By the end of the year, you should have
completely transformed your entire book
9. Steps to take:
1. RESEARCH – familiarize yourself with the practice of altering books
by finding artists who work in this way
2. GET A BOOK - you can use a book you already own, one you
purchase specifically for this assignment, or one that I give to you
3. EXPERIMENT– the beauty of making an altered book is being able to
try out new materials and techniques.Think about how you can
relate what you are creating to the book itself
4. CREATE - using whatever material you choose, begin working on
altering your book.This is an ongoing assignment through the whole
year, but I will do a mid-year critique with you to check in.
5. COMPLETE - by the end of the year, you will have altered the entire
book, including the covers (front and back!).We will also have a final
critique to assess the work overall.
