Kyle Schlesinger on Inge Bruggeman

Article Notes:

1. The way we consider books and publications is constantly evolving. Bruggeman’s contribution in recent years is her connection to the Book & Publication Arts Programme at UNR, a so-called ‘publishing laboratory’ according to Schlesinger. The programme helmed by Bruggeman aims to focus on a buzzword: community, which is mentioned throughout the interview. By connecting over the process of what goes into a book- the creative and artistic experimentation required to make it more than just a vehicle of text- this is ultimately an enhancement of the professional experience. The idea of rigid perfectionism and rules have long been deemed the professional standard, in fact it’s now quite the opposite. 

2. In terms of Bruggeman’s personal work, Schlesinger neatly describes this as ‘book related art’ that are ‘text-based’, but not necessarily legible. As is the nature of artists’ books, the component’s utilisation is one to be challenged, to push the artist and reader outside the perceived comfort zone of a book. Are we supposed to always immediately understand what we are reading, what a book means to us? Bruggeman even makes ‘sculptural bookworks’ alongside her other ventures- therefore focusing entirely on an often overlooked element within the process (at least from a reader’s perspective): the form of the book itself- how the pages hold together, how the book is bound, how it is, ultimately, read. As Schlesinger puts it, her work ‘revolves around the idea of the book… as object, artefact and cultural icon. In short, a vehicle of information, a medium of communication and of being in it’s own right. 

3. Bruggeman defines the book as revolutionary due to its constant evolution and purpose of communicating radical ideas both multiple and singular in nature. There are many different paths the form and the contents of the book can take, much like a print or painting, although with a book there is the potential for more of everything if desired. It can be a print and a painting and a poem and a story and text that is meaningless and simply a book all at once, for starters.

4. Bruggeman also created INK-A! Press, an ‘exploration of the visual, typographic, material and structural elements that go into “reading” a book’. She describes Ulises Carrion’s The New Art of Making Books as a major influence in INK-A’s conception. I researched this myself and found one section in particular to be of interest- that seemingly linked to Bruggeman’s ideals: the old art assumes that printed words are printed on an ideal space. The new art knows that books exist as objects in an exterior reality, subject to concrete conditions of perception, existence, exchange, consumption, use, etc.  (Carrion, 1975)

5. In essence, Bruggeman’s art is in consideration of all the moving parts and how they will interact with an audience- the potential of a book to challenge and excite and take up space. She questions the conventions of reading and how we interact with books can be a dynamic process, not simply just to open the book, read the contents and close it again. Through her strong sense of craft we as the reader can react in accordance to Bruggerman’s creative approach.

6. Bruggeman actively sort out ways to master every process involved in book construction- every alternative method including making paper from scratch and paper-marbling. 

7. In her ethos of a book being more than just a book she found the sentiment of  an old professor very inspiring- that books are about people, and that through collaboration between artists, poets, designers authors… Books can garner a sense of community as the common thread that links all these different expert mediums. It’s potentially the heart of the creative industry. 

8. Her professor, Steve Miller, was a producer, and once collaborated with both a poet and an illustrator in Cuba to create the book Skin (2005). Bruggeman uses this book in particular for inspiration due to its modesty. It’s not wackily creative or showy or flashy for its own sake, simply a carefully crafted artwork with a deeper meaning hidden within the pages. Bruggeman talks of the reminder that you don’t have to shout to be heard- through creating a quiet space that allows the reader to become more intimate (and unintimidated) with the work, and as a result becomes closer to the community the book itself is promoting. 

Poetics of the Press: Interviews with Poets, Printers and Publishers, edited by Kyle Schlesinger (2021)