A thick overview of the book-as-artifact
I have never thought of the book through the lens of cultural and historic artifact evaluation. To my surprise, the book-as-artifact holds so much value in what influences human’s cultural, historic behaviors and patterns towards the use of this artifact. The following is a thick description of the book as an artifact. All are personal insights, based on Panther Peak Bindery blog and Polo Pujadas (2015) paper.
The book
The book, in the course of history, has always imposed itself as an invaluable object that conveys knowledge, culture, art, according to Polo Pujadas (2015). It progressed from a text-only-based format, to more creative formats that included illustrations and different art forms. In recent years, the meaning of the book has changed, or better say — enhanced with additional formats, such as audio and electronic formats. These new ways of representing books have introduced people with new dimensions to their understanding.
What is so special about the book is that it offers a certain experience in all its forms. The book invites the reader to be a participant in this experience. Playing with time, content and interactivity of the artifact, the book creates a journey for the user. It is so intense that the users, even to current state of technology, have not given up on the tangible and sensorial format of the book.
The book as a tool
Books as a tool of “mass” communication has been strategically used in the past to disseminate information for all social classes (Polo Pujadas, 2015). It brought knowledge and art down from elitist pedestal to appeal the masses and to pass it down to future generations. Artists and scholars wanted to make the information accessible to anyone, hence they thought of distributing book copies at a low cost, as the most convenient way to do it. The book as a tool consists of elements such the pages, the printing technique, the structure, and binding technique that tells a lot about the context it was used in.
The book as art object
These kinds of books usually fall under the category of literature, visual and other art forms. The value of these objects is usually found in their content such as poems, paintings, etc., but again, the medium used is the book as a tool. These kinds of books are rarely read for personal pleasures, generally studied in schools and university, and often preserved as valuable assets into libraries.
The book as sentimental object
More than often, the book has been a great sentimental value holder among family members, generations, eras, and people in general. There are stories, legends, films which are based on the plot of the book as a sentimental object. The simplest scenarios include the memories, stories, and the love passed through this object between people. Other, more fictional plots would be, in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, the diary of Tom Riddle represents a part of human soul, while in “The Book Thief”, the books represent a sentimental load of escape and revenge of the main character towards the system.
The book in modern times
Nowadays, the book as everything else has been squeezed by the industry for marketing and other added values. Beside from its initial value as a tool, sentimental and art object, it is now a way of profiting. There are other tools and services that have been developed to make the reading experience a pleasurable one. Beside that, books are more then often used as decorators for interior spaces.
Furthermore, the electronic and audio format of books have gained territory as people are more easily distracted and the productivity culture dictates that reading physical books is a waste of time.
Why are books-as-artifacts important
In brief, the very existence of these artifacts produces and delivers value. That value is generally knowledge, which concerns the content of the book or the context in which it is used. The content addresses the internal information it contains, while the context addresses stories, places and people associated with the book.
As a conclusion, it is my simple prediction that there will never be an end to the book-as-artifact’s era. Books will always be around as invaluable artifacts that hold and convey unparalleled knowledge.
References:
[1] Panther Peak Bindery. Is it a book or an artifact?
[2] Magda Polo Pujadas. (2015). The Book as an artefact.
This piece was written as part of an assignment during my studies for Thick Data course. I am aware I lack a lot of information in respect to this field and topic. However, that was my best effort. Please, for feedback leave a comment. XO
