Unpacking My Library: Artists and Their Books

Artists and Their Books showcases the personal libraries of ten important contemporary artists based in the United States (Mark Dion, Theaster Gates, Wangechi Mutu, Ed Ruscha, and Carrie Mae Weems), Canada (Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller), and the United Kingdom (Billy Childish, Tracey Emin, and Martin Parr). Photographs of each artist’s bookshelves present an evocative glimpse of personal taste, of well-loved and rare volumes, and of the individual touches that make a bookshelf one’s own. A captivating tour of the bookshelves of ten leading artists, exploring the intricate connections between reading, artistic practice, and identity Taking its inspiration from Walter Benjamin’s seminal 1931 essay, the Unpacking My Library series charts a spirited exploration of the reading and book collecting practices of today&rsquo

. About the AuthorJo Steffens is an independent writer and curator; she is the former director of the Municipal Art Society of New York’s Urban Center Books and Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival.Matthias Neumann is principal at normaldesign and adjunct assistant professor of architecture at the New York Institute of Technology

. Jo Steffens is an independent writer and curator; she is the former director of the Municipal Art Society of New York’s Urban Center Books and Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival.Matthias Neumann is principal at normaldesign and adjunct assistant professor of architecture at the New York Institute of Technology