The Movable Book of Letterforms (2009)
The Movable Book of Letterforms (2009)
Kevin M. Steele
Pop-up book. 210 x 210 mm. 22 pages. Edition of 3. Acquired from the artist, November 2022.
Photos: Books On Books Collection. Displayed with permission of the artist.
Letterforms have a tangibility that exceeds their two-dimensional representation on paper and even on screen. How better to educate the viewer to their tactility and three-dimensionality than with movable book techniques such as the volvelle, pop-ups, flaps and tab pulls?
The Movable Book of Letterforms (2009) is a work of art that does just that: it enacts a basic introduction to the origins and unique characteristics of letterforms. A limited edition of three, all of its movable parts have been cut and assembled by hand. The printing is digital on Mohawk Superfine 80lb, and the box and book are covered in Laval velour bookcloth debossed with polymer plate. The only element the artifact is missing is metal.
For a monumental display of Steele’s book and paper engineering, a visit in the UK to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is urged. It can also be found in the following collections:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg
University of Iowa, Iowa City
Indiana University, Bloomington
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
Michigan State University, East Lansing
Further Reading
“Abecedaries I (in progress)“. Books On Books Collection.
“BOOKNESS speaks to Kevin Steele“. 18 December 2023. Oxford: Bodleian Libraries.
Chen, Julie. 2013. 500 Handmade Books. Volume 2. New York: Lark. P. 29 (The Deep).
Lawson, Alexander S. 2010. Anatomy of a Typeface. 5th print ed. Boston: David R. Godine.
McNeil, Paul. 2017. The Visual History of Type. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Salamony, Sandra, and Peter and Donna Thomas. 2012. 1,000 Artists’ Books : Exploring the Book as Art. Minneapolis: Quarto Publishing Group USA. P. 181 (Le Meschere della Commedia dell’Arte).
Books On Books 