The artist's book: a message sent by the Klingspor Museum

Abstract

"Following Marshall McLuhan's famous quote "the medium is the message" this article presents the Klingspor Museum in Offenbach/Main as a unique institution representing the genre of the artist's book. The Klingspor Museum is more than simply a collection of book related arts because of its foundational idea of type- and bookmaking that put tremendous emphasis on merging these two domains. The leading personality of that history is Karl Klingspor. The practice of his type foundry revolutionised the ways that trade markets, literature, and culture in general - traditionally separated until then - came together in the foundry. From this beginning in the foundry, Klingspor developed a collecting ethos that brought together the arts of type, writing and the book, thereby promoting the process of creation itself. Because of this history, the museum inherits a specific responsibility to honor and promote the artist's book. This profile is carried into the public and the city life of Offenbach, always communicating the different elements comprising the artist's book. Especially in times of distance, the museum is looking for new ways to reach out to the citizens and potential visitors. In the words of Joseph Beuys: Everybody is an artist!"--Codex Foundation