This scholarly book is the first of its kind to examine the history, the future, and the present of the artist’s book. It can be difficult to describe and define the concept of the artist’s book, because the ideas that characterize such a book as conceived, designed, and ultimately approved by the artist certainly vary considerably. In most languages, the term artist’s book (livre d’artiste, künstlerbuch, etc.), refers to a specific form and, although there may be consistencies between them, they are not sufficient to establish a conclusive definition of what is intended. This examination sets limits on the objective, allowing the consideration of borderlines that specific characteristics—such as typography, chronology of development, and the artist’s book’s ultimate reception—tend to cross. This book examines these borderlines in the context of the wide genre of artists’ books, including classical and contemporary as well as productions of nonconformist art as created in the former German Democratic Republic. Examples of the books of recent Russian artists are also included.

Viola Hildebrand-Schat is a qualified art historian, a visiting professor at the Institute of Art History at Karl Franzens University, and a lecturer at Goethe University in Frankfurt. One of her research areas is to examine the relationship between text and image as well as the reciprocal influence of literature and art.