March 10 2010

Meeting Julie Chen

Have you guys heard of Julie Chen? She’s a book artist. That means she makes artist books.
What are artist books? I’ll show you some of her work!

You Are Here ; letterpress book by Julie Chen

I suppose if I had to describe book art, artist books, altered books, etc. I would call it art that explores the form of books, or art realized in the form of a book.

With all this iPad, Kindle, Nook business, it’s easy to see how people may forget about books. I’m glad that book art is a growing art form. Let’s bring back that book! Let’s make books completely indispensable.

All of these are works by Julie Chen. I was lucky enough to meet her at Mills College today. She let me sit in on her class and answered all of my questions enthusiastically. Honestly, I was a little star struck since I had seen a segment of her on television a few times, always admiring the way she used the form of books to express herself.

I’m really inspired by her work and would love to create some books with my photography. I guess I should take a class with her and learn some basics. She has a lot to teach me!