Even with the invention of the Nooks and iPads and Kindles, we still cherish the feeling of holding a book. The texture of a book’s pages, the smell of a book new or old, the art and age of a book cover and the random piece of paper you find to use as a bookmark – experiences that are not possible when reading from a device. We love a good hand-me down book. We love the ninety-nine cent book sale. We even love a smelly library book with the names of previous people who have checked the book out. The question is does everyone love books to keep them around in this digital era? And what is the future of the book?

PBS Off Book has spoken with a select group of artists, who use books as their medium. Pop-up paper engineer Matthew Reinhart, visual book artist Andrea Dezsö, and book artist Carole Kunstadt – are all interviewed for this mini-documentary on book art, “the art we can touch”. Watch this video and listen to these creators re-envision what the experience of a book can be.

Produced by Kornhaber Brown
Made for the series on PBS Off Book

What do you think is the future of books? What is your favorite visual book?