Creative bookworms by our resident writer and artist - Michaela Hall
Books are so important in learning about anything, in growth, in imagination, and in information. To a creative however, they are often so much more – sources of inspiration, records, works of art, a relic of something precious, and a timestamp of ideas. From the stories within to the very appearance of the pages – the artist’s book has long been and continues to be an essential tool in expressing creativity and sharing ideas.
An artist who sees the real raw value of books as creative materials is American artist Mike Stilkey. He says “Books are dying. There are so many that go to the garbage. It’s crazy. If I can paint on them, I’m giving them a second chance.” He does this by using books as sculptural forms, which are then painted to create full-of-life works of art that make us consider books in a new way. Not only does the viewer appreciate the actual aesthetic of the overlooked books, but ponders on the image painted on top and why this has been painted on these books – we think about the content of the books and what may be inside more than if we were browsing a library or book store perhaps. In ‘A Guide to Confident Living’ which is titled after one of the book titles featured, we see an animated rabbit character with a shovel and wonder what he is doing on this cover and what his story is. Similarly in ‘The quiet allure of existence’ again titled after one of the books featured in the piece – we see a greyhound sat with a party hat giving a side eye to the viewer peering in on his story and wondering about the celebrations that may be part of this story. Stilkey allows us to delve into creating our own stories by making artwork from existing stories.
It wouldn’t feel right to be exploring the relationship of the artist and the book, without reference to the field of illustrative art. There’s a reason we pick up a book from the shelf and it’s not the story alone, it’s often what manages to entice us visually and this in itself is a very important art form in the legacy of stories and inspiration for generations past and to come. It’s also often overlooked that a lot of famous artists have used their skills in illustration. One example of this is Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist best known for her larger-than-life infinity rooms and wacky patterned sculptures and paintings. This is an artist we probably wouldn’t assume wouldn’t work on the scale of a book. However, in 2016 Kusama created a new illustrative image for the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale The Little Mermaid. The piece featured the artist’s signature repetitive patterns, adapted to suit the nature of the story.
What both of these examples demonstrate is the undeniable link between the artist and the book. It’s a relationship that is two-way, mutually beneficial, and serves creativity as a whole. Stories are a massive part of creativity and why we make them, and the material book is a large part of the process. Equally, books depend on creative bookworms to keep them alive and make new ways to help them alive and remembered through time.