Altered Books – History of a Mixed Media Art

Tracing the Origins of the Altered Book Art Movement

Sep 10, 2009 Alison Fletcher

The altered book has evolved as a form of mixed media artwork since the1960s, but its influences have spanned centuries.

Altering books is a popular artistic medium today, but the idea of altered books is not a new one. For centuries books have been altered to create new works. The practice began as a way of preserving resources, but in the 20th century, the altered books movement has become an art form based solely on creative expression.

History of Altered Books

Diane Maurer-Mathison discusses the origins of altered books in Collage, Altered Art, and Assemblage. The first to alter a book, according to Mathison, were monks during the 11th century, who created new texts and illustrations, called palimpsest, using the ink from earlier manuscripts.

In later centuries, according to Maurer-Mathison, examples of mixed media art emerged, One was Grangerism, a Victorian art form that involved illustrating books by gluing in engravings from other book. Making scrapbooks by pasting pictures and mementos onto the printed pages of old books was a popular past time from the late 1800s through the early 1900s.

Tom Phillips – Altered Book Artist

In the mid-1960s, British artist Tom Phillips bought a used Victorian novel, A Human Document by W.H. Mallock, for three pence. According to Phillips's writings about his work, he was inspired by author William Burroughs' use of the cut-up technique. He began experimenting with altering the used book in 1965. First, he marked out certain words to change the meaning of the text. Later Phillips began using collage and decoupage techniques, and painting the book's pages with watercolor and gouache.

Phillips worked on the book for over fifteen years. He referred to the project as a "treated book". The finished product contains not only visually intriguing artwork, but also a novel, created entirely from the altered text of the original story. This new work, A HUMUMENT, was first published in 1983. The title is derived from the title of the original book. Phillips came up with the name after altering the title page by folding it. Images of A HUMUMENT can be viewed online.

Altering Books – Mixed Media Arts Today

Phillips and his treated book are credited with starting the modern altered book art movement, which has grown into an impressive form of expression. With few rules, altering books emphasizes freedom of expression and the creative experience of the artist rather than artistic talent and technical skill.

A nonprofit organization, the International Society of Altered Book Artists (ISABA), was formed to promote book altering as an art. The ISABA sponsors exhibitions and educational events. There are also many books and other publications dedicated to altered books and other altered art forms.

Sources

• "Altered Books - The International Society of Altered Book Artists" ISABA Website. Available: http://www.alteredbookartists.com
• Maurer-Mathison, Diane. Collage, Altered Art and Assemblage: Creating Unique Images and Objects Watson-Guptill, 2008.
• Phillips, Tom, R.A. "Introduction to a Humument" HUMUMENT.COM - The Official Site of A HUMUMENT. Available: http://www.humument.com/intro.html

The copyright of the article Altered Books – History of a Mixed Media Art in Mixed Media Arts is owned by Alison Fletcher. Permission to republish Altered Books – History of a Mixed Media Art in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Collage and Painting are Altered Book Techniques

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