The Jab Anthology: Selections from the Journal of Artists' Books, 1994-2020

"This anthology of articles selected from JAB: The Journal of Artists' Books (1994-2020) contains some of the best critical writing on artists' books produced in the last quarter of a century. Driven by the editorial vision of artist Brad Freeman, JAB began as a provocative pamphlet and expanded to become a significant journal documenting artists' books from multiple perspectives. With its range of participants and approaches, JAB provided a unique venue for sustained critical writing in the field and developed a broad subscriber base among institutional and private collectors and readers. It featured artists' profiles, book reviews, reports from book fairs and conferences, interviews with major figures, and much lively debate about how to engage critically with artists' books. More than two hundred writers and artists from nearly two dozen countries around the globe were published in its pages. Contributions came from authors in Australia, North America, Europe, the UK, and South America and from literary studies, visual arts, photography, media theory, and book history as well as other backgrounds. The original issues each had covers designed-and often printed-by individual book artists. Later issues contained artists' books produced exclusively for its subscribers. No other journal dedicated exclusively to artists' books had so long a run or such broad representation. As JAB's visibility increased, more artists and writers contributed to its ongoing exchanges. The essays in this collection are all exemplary works of critical writing that illuminate individual books, artists, or presses but also offer a diverse range of methodological approaches to interpreting these vibrant and compelling works of art. Providing new access to these essays will hopefully inspire new work in creative and intellectual areas of the field and offer a resource to those responsible for teaching and collecting artists' books"--