Artist’s Book vs Concrete Poetry
アーティストブック / 具体詩／コンクリート・ポエトリー
Artist’s Book comes from Publishing and Editing and Concrete Poetry from Experimental Typography. One is technique and the other layout. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Artist’s Book
Designs the book as the work rather than its container, counting the binding, the sequence, the paper, the repetitions and the reader's handling as part of it.
Concrete Poetry
Treats the placement, repetition, blank space and sound of words as the poem itself, not only what they mean.
| Artist’s Book | Concrete Poetry | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1960s– | 1950s–1970s |
| Family | Publishing and Editing | Experimental Typography |
| Kind | Technique | Layout |
| Cues | The book as matter / Sequential pages / Self-publishing / Reader interaction | Repeated words / Shapes made of letters / Large blanks / Dismantled reading order |
| Best used for | Work that only exists when pages are turned in order, issued as a book · Small editions where you decide the paper and the binding yourself | Print pieces where a few words carry the reading speed and the pauses · Exhibitions and wall works that take language itself as the subject |
| Type | Keep text sparse and hold its position so turning has a beat | One face at one size, emphasis from position and repetition only |
| Composition | Compose page by page rather than by the spread | Place words on a grid so reading can start from any direction |
| Material | Paper weight and opacity, the binding, the edges, the weight in hand | White paper and one black ink, quality carried by register and margin |
| Caution | Printing the work neatly in sequence gives neither the order nor the touch any role, and the result falls back into being a catalogue. | When making a shape comes first, the meaning of the words stops answering their position, and the piece is only letters poured into a picture. |