Visual Studies Workshop Press : a website description of process-based and experimental books

This applied thesis project deals with a selection of fifty books published by the Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) Press in the 1970s and 1980s. The selection of books can be found in the Independent Press Archive that is currently held in the Research Center at the Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) in Rochester N.Y. The objective for this applied project is to facilitate access and describe the selection of books through the construction of a website. The thesis is divided into two parts, a website description of the books and an analytical paper. The website will allow for visual access to some important experiments with the book format, analog experiments that were revolutionary in their time. The analytical paper includes a discussion of the decisions made while selecting and digitizing the books for the website. This thesis project will add to the current knowledge about VSW Press by providing a snapshot view of how the book format was utilized by artists and students working at VSW at a particular moment in history, a historical period in which photography media and publication were undergoing a time of remarkable growth.