Keith Smith, Keith Smith Books, Rochester, NY

Instructional and Scholarly Books
These publications are staples in every book art's classroom. Visit Keith's website for his trade books.

Limited Edition & Unique Books
Keith Smith's artworks are lush and impeccably-crafted.
Yet they are intimate expressions.

A BOOKLYN EXCLUSIVE

BOOK 91 A String Book, 1982

38 / 50, one final copy available. $24,000

One of the seminal works in the artists' book movement. Smith created this book, also known as "The String Book", in 1982, in an edition of 50 copies. The covers of the book have a string pattern, hinting at what's to be found inside. Upon opening the book, we find a cut page that reveals glimpses of the title page beneath it--one that is barely legible: the words are blind embossed on the page, listing simply the title, the artist, and the publisher.

"Book 91 is a sequence of certain feelings and psychological experiences which I am not capable of placing in words; that is why I made the book… I am equally concerned with the book-as-experience. Here, the physical is used as transition… The sound, cast light and shadows and their focus and movement, are not part of the physical book. They are physical, but they only come into existence during the act of experiencing the book, that is, turning the page.” Keith Smith

Selected Collections
David and Reva Logan, Chicago, of the Logan Foundation.
Aaron Siskind, photographer, NYC, NY
Adam Weinberg, Director of Whitney Museum of Art, NYC, NY
The Houston Museum of Art, Texas
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Boston Athenaeum
Carnegie Mellon University Library, Pittsburgh, PA
Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio
David Travis, Photo Curator, The Art Institute of Chicago
Glore Print Room, The Art Institute of Chicago
Helgi Skutá Helgason
Houghton Rare Books Library, Harvard University, MA
Jonathan Williams, poet
Larry Clark, photographer, NYC, NY
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Library University of Arizona
Mr. Motoko Inone, Alphabet Press
NY Public Library, NYC, NY
Richard and Ronay Menschel, NYC, NY
Steve Clay, Granary Books
The Getty Museum, LA
The Jaffe Collection, Boca Raton, FL
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Library
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
Virginia Commonwealth University Library, Richmond

The Blue Book, 2007

BOOK 251 Getting Aquainted with a Picture, 2006

BOOK 246, 2006

BOOK 245, 2006

BOOK 244 Tub on Tuesday, 2006

BOOK 233 Chrome Sweet Home, 2006

BOOK 230 Nineteen Fifty Three, 2005

BOOK 179 1999, 2006

BOOK 91 A String Book, 1982

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The Blue Book, 2007

Edition size, 35.

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BOOK 251 Getting Aquainted with a Picture, 2006

24 / 25

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BOOK 246, 2006

25 / 25

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BOOK 245, 2006

20 / 20

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BOOK 244 Tub on Tuesday, 2006

Edition of 20. Made in collaboration with Kim, Myoung Soo as an Ivarykeith Book.

The two artists collaborated by sending files through the Internet and on CDs through the mails. The picture story was conceived and largely photographed by Ivary and the text was written by Keith. The book is laid out in PhotoShop. The font is Verdana with quotes in Stone Sans.

This book is also available in a Korean translation. TUB ON TUESDAY is the first in a series of publications planned by Kim, Myoung Soo and Keith Smith. Their collaborations will be under the name IVARYKEITH.

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BOOK 233 Chrome Sweet Home, 2006

5 / 5

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BOOK 230 Nineteen Fifty Three, 2005

10 / 10

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BOOK 179 1999, 2006

17 / 20

This page is maintained by Marshall Weber.