THE COURSE PROJECT ARTIST'S BOOK AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: PECULIARITIES OF CONCEPTUAL SOLUTIONS AND TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION IN 2018–2022

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of this article is a continuation of the art historical analysis of the course assignment The Artist's Book at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. In this, the third part of the study, the authors presents the current time period and traces the evolution of the formal and conceptual foundations of student projects. Methods. The research is based on the methods of artistic and stylistic analysis and comparative analysis of student works with earlier book projects that were performed as assignments in the book graphics studio, and is also supplemented in the context of the introduction of the discipline Art Book for the specialization Graphic Design. Results. The Artist's book, as an original phenomenon in book art, continues to develop in Ukraine and participates in the formation of contemporary fine art. Such a systematic presence of the Artist's book in institutional art processes (especially after 2010) has an impact on the understanding of contemporary book culture and its reflection in the educational process of the Illustration and Book Design Studio at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, as well as in individual projects of the Graphic Design specialization. During this time, a large number of group and personal exhibitions, book festivals, and art residencies took place where the Artist's book played a leading role. The motivation for introducing the "Artist's Book" to the elective courses of the senior courses of the graphic design specialization at the same institution was similar. The analysis of individual projects created at the Design Department shows that going beyond the classical approach to book design is an exceptional and unique project and concentrates ideological and figurative resources. The trend of recent years in students' works has been the introduction of modern techniques and materials for the realization of a book project: cutting the oracle for cutting out, printing on film, photo collage, etc. The use of digital printing technologies provided opportunities to rethink the presentation of Ukrainian folk art and Ukrainian art of previous years. The experience of students in 2018–2022 while working on the "Artist's Book" is considered. On the one hand, it should be noted that there are many profound conceptual solutions in combining Ukrainian visual traditions with the latest technologies or interpretation of book forms, on the other hand, the complexity of working with new compositional methods for students who have previously worked only with the classical book block. Given the current development of book art, such a "non-standard" learning task that encourages the development of conceptual thinking in working with complex projects will help in their further professional development. Such projects are aimed at the experience of working with the "Artist's Book" as an exhibition object and, at the same time, at the possible further use of the found artistic solutions in the work with a printed book edition. Conclusions. The trend of recent years in students' works has been the introduction of modern techniques and materials for the realization of the book project: cutting the oracle for cutting out, printing on film, photo collage, etc. The use of digital printing technologies provided opportunities to rethink the presentation of Ukrainian folk art and Ukrainian art of previous years.