This guide is meant to help students make artists' books or zines without access to a lot of materials and supplies. For more information on artists' books, please see our full research guide. Here's our guide to zines and minicomics
Interested in a good free online bookmaking resource? Check out the Booklyn Education Manual.
Looking for a great intro to zines with instructions on how to make them? Check out the Public Studio's excellent guide.
Image: Artist’s Book Ideation Cards by Barbara Tetenbaum
Interested in the MassArt Library's collection of artists' books? Check out this online gallery. If you would like to view any of the artists' books in the collection, you can ask at the library front desk, email the library at library@massart.edu, or reach out to Greg Wallace or Rachel Resnik. The library also provides in-person and virtual presentations on the collection to classes. Please contact Greg for more details.
What is an Artist's Book? And a Zine?
An artist's book is a work of art in the form or a book or a book-like structure.
Artists' books can be one of a kind, produced in limited editions, or mass produced. They can be hand-made or made by machine.
They can be made out of traditional book materials such as paper and cloth but also out of unconventional items. The MassArt Library has artists' books made out of vinyl records, a pill bottle, a carton of eggs, and paper napkins.
Zines are generally less craft-focused than artists' books and are made using a printer or copier, often taking the form of pamphlets that are folded or stapled. They offer a low-cost and quick way to share information.
Image: Heidi Neilson, Uniform Paper