Artist Books

During Erasmus's third year of study at the Technikon Witwatersrand (now the University of Johannesburg), he was introduced to Book Art by a visiting American book artist Robin Silverburg.

Erasmus completed two courses, one in Traditional Book binding and another in Alternative Book Binding Methods. Alternative methods of binding books and the possibilities that it contained for challenging the viewers perception of what is a book greatly intrigued Erasmus. This “new” form of expression gave Erasmus a format in which he could further his experimentation into Concrete and Visual Poetry.

As can be see in the Big Book, Erasmus believes that the Artist Book offers an artist an unique opportunity to interact with the viewer on a more personal level than traditional media. Books are viewed in a more personal space.

Paintings, drawings and sculptures exist with space around it where it is viewed, where the artist books are interactive. A touching and turning of the pages gives the viewer a rare opportunity to interact with the artwork on a conceptual and tactile level.