ARTISTS' BOOKS: THE BOOK AS A WORK OF ART, 1963-1995 by Stephen BuryReview by: Kristine MarkovichArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 15, No. 1(Spring 1996), p. 65Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948822 .

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consider himself or herself to be a Native American and be

actively seeking a career as a painter." He compiled his data

from a combination of personal interviews and survey forms.

Among the 3,000 United States and Canadian artists included are all those listed in King's 1968 volume. Entries include name

(with variations including tribal and European-style names), tribe, life dates, residence, formal and informal education (many of the artists are self-taught or learn through apprenticeships), occupation, medium, books illustrated, commissions, collec tions, exhibits, and awards/honors. The placement of "human interest" quotations in the margin of many entries is enticing; some of these are quotes from artists or comments about the artists that have been excerpted from other publications.

Contemporary Native American Artists features fewer artists?1,000 in all?but they represent work in a wider array of media. The volume's handy index by medium lists painting, sculpture, pottery, weaving, beadwork, dollmaking, clothing, featherwork, quilting, knitting, petroglyphs, rattles, and mask

making, among others. Reno compiled data from a combination of published information, personal knowledge, and mail surveys. The basic entry includes artist's name (including variations), tribal affiliation, media, life dates, education, representation, awards, and "about the artist." Occasional black-and-white

photographs of some artists and their work are scattered

throughout. Both volumes include a useful Tribal Index, although

Lester's is the more detailed. Both volumes include bibliogra phies, although, again, Lester's is more extensive.

Given the dearth of readily available information on Native American artists, librarians in academic, museum, and public libraries should consider purchasing both titles. The Biographical

Directory of Native American Painters is more substantial and better researched; its focus on painters and printmakers, however, leaves out the category of artists least documented elsewhere, although Reno does include some artists working in traditional crafts and the decorative arts. Contemporary Native

American Artists has a gallery/representation index that will be utilized by many researchers; that information is absent in Lester's compilation. Clearly, these titles complement one another and will be worthwhile additions to most library collections.

Edith L. Crowe San Jose State University

ARTISTS* BOOKS: THE BOOK AS A WORK OF ART, 1963-1995 / Stephen Bury.?Hants, England: Scolar Press, dist.

by Ashgate Publishing, 1995.?223 p.: ill.?ISBN 1-85928-163-X; LC 95-9230: $109.95.

Several volumes on artists' books have appeared recently; this one is unique in that it is centered around a bibliography. The first section of Artists' Books consists of short, two- to five

page essays on historical aspects of artists' books: "The Artist and the Book Format," "Towards a History of Artists' Books," "Mallarm? and Broodthaers," "Futurist Books," "Fluxus Books," "Minimalist and Conceptual Books," and "Women and Artists' Books." Although the years 1963-1995 are singled out in the

title, they are not the focus of the essays. A valuable note on collecting artists' books offers advice for

the potential collector or librarian and begins the second and

largest section. The selective bibliography of artists' books contains 503 entries based on the ARLIS UK/Ireland standards for cataloging artists' books, which the author helped develop. The list is arranged chronologically by publication year of the

book; artist and title access are offered only through the index. There is a predominance of European publications. No selection criteria are expressed, nor is the bibliography annotated to

explain an item's inclusion. Ninety-seven titles are accompanied

by photographs that do not always appear on the same page as their corresponding item. Captions are not provided, and the list of illustrations is at the very beginning of the book making identification awkward.

The scholarly apparati comprise a chronology, glossary, general bibliography, and index. These are the areas which, if

thoroughly developed, would have made an excellent reference work. In spite of the suggested focus on 1963-1995, half the

chronology deals with pre-1963 developments. If expanded both in number and length of post-1963 entries, the chronology could be a useful resource for the appearance of workshops and

production of influential books. The one-page glossary defines

important terms such as edition, issue, and impression and includes book arts terminology but does not intend to be

comprehensive. The extensive index and general bibliography distinguish this volume as a reference tool. It contains the

largest bibliography on artists' books since the excellent

publication Artists' Books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook (Rochester, NY: Visual Studies Workshop, 1985). Fairly compre hensive for early aspects of artists' books, the bibliography lacks some periodical literature, exhibition catalogues, and ephemeral

material, especially regarding contemporary American book artists.

Electronic publications of information about artists' books is

only mentioned in the essay on women artists, where Bury suggests that the World Wide Web might be a suitable publish ing venue for women. A treatment of contemporary artists'

books can be found in Johanna Drucker's The Century ofArtistsi Books (New York: Granary Books, 1995), a new title that

provides quality discussion, photographs, and citations about

today's creators and collectors of artists' books, but unfortunately no bibliography. Given the growth of interest in artists' books, perhaps eventually there will be a publication combining the

bibliographic effort of Bury with fully developed essays and more

photographs?the ultimate artists' books reference tool. With

only 223 pages (and a lot of white space), the price of this volume seems excessive, especially when there are more

affordable books available. This title is recommended to libraries or museums considering collecting artists' books or those with artists' books holdings that wish to further document items in their collections.

Kristine Markovich Indiana University-Bloomington

Changing Civilizations

ART AND THE ROMAN VIEWER: THE TRANSFOR MATION OF ART FROM THE PAGAN WORLD TO CHRISTIANITY / Jas Eisner.?(Cambridge studies in new art

history and criticism).?Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, April 1995.?401 p.: ill.?ISBN 0-521-45354 2; LC 94-4687; $60.00.

This book is divided into three parts: "Ways of Viewing in the Roman World," "The Transformation of Roman Art from

Augustus to Justinian," and "Epilogue: Modulations of Change." The text is followed by an extensive bibliography, many pages of notes, and an index. There are 4 color and 81 black-and-white

plates; while not of the highest quality, the plates are sufficient

1996 ? Volume 15, Number 1 ? Art Documentotion 65

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