The history of manuscripts and books
(Paula Lange)
Purpose
Students are to complete an art history research task as well as a practical task of creating their own artist book.
Description
This project has been designed for a Year 9 Art class to complete over the period of a school term. Students are to become familiar with books in an historical context and books as objects of art in their own right. Through research they will also be exposed to the idea of early books as precious objects and containers of religious information. When creating their own artists' books, they will be encouraged to be innovative and creative in their approach.
Procedure
This unit comprises two parts:
Part A - a research assignment
- Teacher introduces this part with the History of manuscripts and books [new window
44 kb]
This topic complements the pre-modern era studied during Year 9. - Teacher reads through the Art History: Research Task sheet [new window
56 kb] with students to ensure they thoroughly understand what is required. Students then follow instructions on the task sheet to carry out research to answer questions. 
Part B - the practical task
- Teacher introduces this part with the Artist Books presentation [new window 195 kb]
This shows different ways artists' books have been presented and gives students an image of what they will be working towards. - Teacher reads through the Making Task sheet [new window 61 kb] with students to ensure they thoroughly understand what is required. Students use these suggestions to complete the practical task. This task sheet is designed so as to not be too specific with instructions to students in order to give them scope to accommodate their own choices and to display their creativity.
In order to complete these tasks successfully, students will require the ability to use:
- a variety of painting and drawing techniques
- a range of art materials
- the internet for art history research
Resources
Books:
- Brown, P 1980, The book of Kells, Thames and Hudson, Dublin
- Feliciano, K 1999, Making memory books, Rockport, USA
Websites:
- Queensland Studies Authority [new window]
- List of websites [new window 21 kb] about the history of books and illuminated manuscripts.
Last updated: 15th July 2009
Creatively linking Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other
