Make a Book with Meat (or other atypical materials) ft. Ben Denzer

[@theartassignment]

A few things to note: 1) Ben Denzer created a super valuable document for us sharing some basic bookbinding techniques: drive.google.com/file/d/1gMy5mA33bRXniOVfqJQLNAXOl_meMcJp/view?usp=sharing 2) Ben makes a wide variety of astounding, intriguing work, which you can and should check out: bendenzer.com/ 3) Ben also designed the cover for my book You Are an Artist (!), which you can find here: bit.ly/2kplj2h 4) Last but not least: You should really do this assignment! Give it a try and share what you make on Instagram or Twitter with #youareanartist. I'll look out for them and reshare. - Sarah

[@katiekaufenberg7395]

@artassignment is art assignment going to be realeasing new videos soon? I look forward to new videos and finding out more about the art world.

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

GENOCIDE OF BEAUTY: CULTURAL MARXISM IN THE ARTS

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

Lame Cultural Marxism

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

Conceptual bullshit

[@0Iive]

@@katiekaufenberg7395 😔

[@therewasabear]

"Meat is just like fingers" I need that on a shirt

[@Xenolilly]

That was really funny and I guess true?

[@theartassignment]

That statement has been echoing around in my head for weeks since we recorded this. So glad we can now share this revelation with you 😆

[@joaofarias6473]

@@theartassignment Meat is just like fingers because they are made of the same component parts: muscle, tendons, cartilage, skin and bone. Why this isn't hard-hitting to most people I don't really know. Regardless, it's still a funny, absurdist sounding quote

[@TJtheBee]

What’s interesting about this from my perspective is how binding them into a book affects the object. Can you pay for something with a book of one dollar bills? How fast does a book of meat decompose, and how does that affect its reading? (Perhaps that’s a change of audience - humans to flies!) And of course, these objects are all temporary; we think of books as having to last for a long while, but many of these decompose and change over time. An interesting thought experiment, if nothing else.

[@arnor83]

On that the objects don´t have to last forever, look at the Fluxus art movement, those who exercised Fluxus focused on the process of making the art over the actual finished product. That would apply to the meat book.

[@Ghostofthegallow]

Miss these guys hope they come back

[@geo4483]

I discovered this channel this year, and it has become one of my favorite channels of all time. Not only has it brought me insurmountable amounts of creative motivation, it has also taught me so much on how to look at and perceive art, not only mine, but of others as well. I didn't know I could love art this much and I think I owe all of it to this channel. I really do hope they come back to create more videos and assignments when they feel comfortable doing more

[@uniecorn5311]

miss this channel so much 🥺😭

[@darrylelliott9412]

Who knew I would miss Art Assignment so much!☹

[@lorenabpv]

*flashbacks to the infamous meat sculpture of art assignment past* this is the last video before the break, isn't it? if so, wishing you/the team a good break. stay safe and take care :)

[@theartassignment]

SAME (and yes it is! I couldn't leave you without something to do.)

[@Mjhaider1985]

@@theartassignment I'm still not over Mike ending Idea Channel

[@cubeofcheese5574]

@@Mjhaider1985 sadness

[@neropatti1504]

I loooove books, as objects I mean. I think I have to try this.

[@theartassignment]

you should! would love to see what comes of it: #youareanartist

[@Gnomes_]

Same!!!

[@yourfashionarchive427]

bring this channel back

[@lilacsmile4321]

This is genuinely my favorite youtube channel I hope everyone is doing alright!

[@Gnomes_]

As someone with a moderately (extremely) consuming obsession with bookbinding, AHHHH!!!!! This is awesome!!!!!! Not many people know about book arts, I really deeply appreciate you highlighting this wonderful lesser known art form ❤️❤️❤️ Currently binding a sketchbook for a still life elective I’m taking, I like how bookbinding intersects art in that way, but also as an art form of its own.

[@KannikCat]

You have no idea how happy this assignment makes me! My favourite joke for two decades has been to interject in an absurd and usually non-sequitur way, “It’s made out of meat.” And here we go! Books made out of meat. So perfect and so great. I am grinning from ear to ear and back around my head to the first ear again. Plus, “Meat is just like fingers!” may be the best thing I’ve heard all week. :D Thank you a tonne!

[@aceup1]

My grandfather taught me how to signature sew book bind. He loved to work with leather, and I remember going to the leather factory, cutting and dying the covers, measuring and puncturing the holes into the leather, folding the signatures and sewing them into the leather. We'd try all sorts of patterns with the string, and then sell them or give them as gifts to relatives. One of the highlights of my childhood for sure.

[@ohwell2088]

Love this channel so much. I binge watch all the "case for" videos often and discovered my love for art history

[@0Iive]

I super miss this channel :( I wish there’d be an update video to say when you might be coming back.

[@imguimoreira]

I miss this channel so bad...

[@jonathanowo7584]

I see this book plug for "You Are an Artist", and I accept it, and embrace it. :D

[@lostcause2195]

My favorite KZbin channel, cant wait for the next upload

[@angelgraham4504]

I remember Junior year of high school where my art teacher gave us the assignment to create a book not shaped like a book. It was really cool to see what my classmates came up with- especially some more mechanical pieces. This feels like almost an inversion of that- a book that's... Well while it's still a book, the contents aren't traditional. So maybe it's closer to a cousin? Either way this seems like a fun project I really want to try sometime in the future!

[@7pawr7]

This video is so whimsical, creative, and innovative! Ben is a delight, brings light to my day!

[@Beryllahawk]

I have made books before - very small ones, be it said, but still, it was quite a process. I am still fascinated by book arts, I've always adored the smell of books, of libraries, of the back rooms of libraries even - where the glue and the twine wait to repair spines and the special fabrics, to repair covers. I admit it's never once occurred to me to make a book AS art - though I've known about the idea, all the examples I've ever seen were standard materials, not something like this. It's summer where I am right now, and the leaves are still green and flexible. Think I'll attempt this assignment with plant materials!

[@jimeactua]

Im gonna miss this videos, they are amazing

[@Naiyelli]

My boyfriend likes to collect cool drink coasters from pubs, bars, and restaurants we visit. He doesn’t do anything with them just has them in his desk drawer. Might just ask him how he feels about us making a book out of them!

[@SankofaNYC]

I know you told us you were slowing down... I hope you are ok and we can't wait for you guys to come back

[@lucias1805]

I just want to say this is the BEST art channel that is out there. I am obsessed thank you! For all the great inspirational and eye-opening sentiments. 💕💕💕🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@Titanic_401]

Don't let Lady Gaga see that meat book.

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

She's a poser since that dress was made during the 1950s

[@Titanic_401]

@@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631 uh oh guys the art police is here

[@luigimlm]

SO there is this Portuguese-Brazilian conceptual artist called Arthur Barrio who did the book of meat in 1978. He uses this ephemeral piece to think about the materialism that turn art in captalization. Besides in that time Brazil was under a dictatorship, so we can think about military violence through the material of the work too

[@leahstone9938]

That really adds meaning to this concept, thank you

[@allanism]

@@TreceLunasProject maybe you like this artist instagram.com/ricardo_rangels

[@thereisnosun]

Why is this channel dead? Its such a cool thing! 😞

[@_Wakefuldreams]

Yeeeesssss, book arts was my favorite class in college!!!!! The possibilities are endless!

[@tiffanysears5437]

This immediately got my daughter crafting “a new kind of book” with cutouts in paper she had bound together. We love this channel and the You Are book

[@thenerdlet3171]

i cant even express how much i love this? i love this so much. i am sitting here and i am overjoyed. im going to go make a book

[@graphite2786]

A great assignment , Ben! Way way back in 97 we had an exhibition / performance piece that incorporated something very similar to the meatbook. This fantastic concept artist I knew, who used food in a lot of her art pieces, made a book of prosciutto. It was bound with meat glue ( their is such a thing - transglutaminase). There was actual text inside ( squid ink, applied by tattoo gun) of various poems. So after the readings, the book was battered, crumbed and deep fried. She ate her words. It was hilarious!

[@MatheusCampos-ex8et]

I made my own this morning cuting plastic bags I had and using them as the cover. For the pages, I used leaves that had fallen from the trees recently. Overall a great experience, but after that I started thinking otherwise. I mean, doing this assignment amused me, the only issue being that I didn't have a purpose for it so I felt guilty and threw it in the trash can. Couldn't bear to see it suffer alone, all by itself in my desk. If I had made another one, it would eventually become an never ending cycle.

[@mortalspiral]

I really liked a lot of those books! I think the fortune cookie book and the Splenda one are going to stick in my brain for a bit 🤯

[@dalicloud9]

as always, i learned more than i expected. thank you for meat binding techniques as well as knowledge of binding terminology.

[@scorpioninpink]

I miss this channel.

[@0Iive]

Same 😔

[@soylentcompany5235]

Same 😐😔

[@TrickyNick79]

This channel has had a profound effect on my life and I miss it very much. Can anyone suggest some other channels like it?

[@pilotstyle123]

Try kzbin.infovideos

[@marclamain8717]

This is a perfect video. I love the quirky creativity book making can bring about.

[@JacksonMarvel]

I love this! Having cool artists on this platform talking about their art, interlaced with your commentary and topics in some videos too! This is a great new direction for the channel. Just wanted to let you know how much this will bring the channel to the next level! I've been watching this channel since near the beginning and love these new ideas. #Indianapolis4Ever

[@art-by-ren]

I miss this channel! Please bring it back!!!

[@ttrenchmiranda]

Waiting anxiously for an episode on NFTs! Hope its coming! Miss this channel!

[@jojogoogles7248]

The trial and error meat picture looks quite scary. I love it!

[@existentialdiet1632]

This assignment would pair very lovely with your "art book" project from early May

[@oldtimemachine]

ah! i just saw the meat book on a ig post, great timing, i'll see what i can do :)

[@aarya1467]

I really like the idea of making books with atypical material I'm going to try this out But won't lie that meat book makes my skin crawl. I don't know why but I can't help but imagine animals are conscious and what they will feel after looking at that

[@philophos]

I know art exists to stimulate discussion, so I’ll just say: the meat book displays such a callous disregard for sentient life. It’s the perfect emblem of brutal humanity. When we tell ourselves a story about the lesser worth of the other creatures we share a planet with, the other creatures whose consciousnesses have evolved in the same way as ours, we allow ourselves to play games with their corpses. It shows the vicious power of story-telling, of ideology, of propaganda. The meat book - and indeed any real meat art piece - is evil incarnate, a reminder of how sick we can be when we de-personify living beings. The meat book is your dog, your cat, every human that has been de-personified to the point of extermination in the course of history. A very chilling piece.

[@ktaadnpainter]

Thank you Philophos for so eloquently putting into words my visceral reaction to this project. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who found this deeply disturbing. Also quite disappointed in the Art Assignment for highlighting this work.

[@philophos]

BumblingDolphin Obviously they didn’t mean it to be that deep, but cruelty breeds happily in shallow thought.

[@2bsirius]

@philophos, Thank for your great comment. There is a wonderful line in Lindsay Ellis' new novel, _Axiom's End,_ “Would you consider a fear of billions of flesh-eating aliens illogical?” The thing we human beings are the flesh-eating aliens and the line is spoken by a displaced, traumatize alien who is in desperate situation on our own beleaguered planet. I. for one, do not need or want a meat book and for me such a book would NOT be art. I'd suggest that if someone is intent on making such a silly, cruel object and pretentiously labeling it "art" should at least use *bologny* as this "art's" medium.

[@DavidAltamar2]

I miss you!!

[@dikshyamohapatra7798]

dear art assignment, can u do a video titled "the case for fashion" please? i love your "the case for-" series, btw. thank u sm for making art less terrifying :)

[@davidkbarcus]

Is this the last Art Assignment video?

[@kelvinmck2001]

Imagine the smell of a book burning using the meat books.

[@igianjangbiani5992]

what happened to this channel ?

[@Xenolilly]

Woot! A new assignment!

[@SarahCrookall]

This was a great video, and incredibly creative work! Thanks, Ben. As a poet, I'm excited to see what renditions of zines/chapbooks could be made with this approach.

[@uchka.b]

I miss this channel :"P

[@TheElisabethMaria]

This is such a fun way of looking at things as potential books

[@ha-nhuanong9813]

oh i miss your vids, sarah 😭

[@clownstuf]

Same

[@jennyt2253]

omg this is giving me flashbacks to my second year bookbinding elective @ OCAD! Making an atypical book was my final project for the year, Such a cool video!!! ⭐️

[@denvill1172]

Psst it’s time to return

[@chickenlurkinyungchihuahua]

I love this! Great finding for my research works!!

[@lily4351]

OOOOH I love this video! Both eye-opening, entertaining and educational. Good Job TAA!

[@Flamingopinky]

I know this channel will probably never post again but I still come back and check in every once in a wile anyway

[@Flamingopinky]

Also I think a video from this channel talking about AI art would be super interesting

[@lefthandstory1280]

Great art nice job,keep it up😃👍....

[@AlthenaLuna]

...now I'm trying to think of glue substitutes that are edible + wouldn't ruin the flavors involved, 'cause there's plenty of food structures that are already book-like, they just won't hold together if handled like one.

[@jonathanlandry8902]

Oh no I read the title wrong and made a typical book instead!

[@Lily-os8zd]

Pls give us a case for nfts or why nfts? Need some logic

[@LeanneModenPoet]

This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

[@abenamo]

I love this, but I wonder about the sustainability especially of meat/using resources ... the use of lottery tickets etc. is great

[@Jdubb333]

such a wonderful idea, i’ll have to give this a try.

[@lillyhill6093]

have a go at this idea perhaps: a bread book, entirely made of bread. I think stitching that would be fun!

[@aku7296]

Love the small bits doodles on his shirt. What brand shirt is he wearing? It looks damn oversharpen effect😍Btw, this could be a damn great NFT COLLECTION bro🥰

[@b3b3j4y]

I got a compilation book of extremely fun but incredibly odd Zines made by PaperRad. lol so i've been thinking about bookbinding for a while. if you don't know them you should google 'em.

[@pl6453]

Thank you for making this vid! Im inspired!

[@PhyllisRogers]

I can’t wait to start this project!!!

[@saloneelise6224]

What a fun concept. Can't wait to add the deli books drawer to my fridge

[@camillegomez1835]

I wonder what's The Art Assignment's take on NFT's

[@P3achyPro]

for a second I thought this was a new art cooking episode lmao

[@kevincardani8321]

Go Blue! I love Ann Arbor and especially Zingerman's!

[@Zintastikcowbell]

The artist in me loves this concept. The teacher-in-a-Title-I-district-in-me cringes about how privileged a person must be to turn money and food into art. I once excitedly raved about how I saw an artist at a mustard festival making art/caricatures with different types and colors of mustard, and one of my middle school students responded with "that's wasting food!"

[@BrianHutzellMusic]

Book nerds who love history should check out Christopher De Hamel’s “Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys Into The Medieval World.” It’s a beautiful, lavishly illustrated book about illuminated manuscripts.

[@CleverButClueless]

This was so good! I have to try this

[@Shou_uohS]

I miss you please comeback 😭

[@cobaj6226]

Just based off of the color of his shirt and the way it interacts with the camera and lighting makes it look like he was shirtless and they added a CG shirt

[@loes3000]

This channel is like a breathe of fresh air from the world lol like my secret little art garden 💀😂

[@karaoke_bqv]

I miss this channel so much! Hope all you guys are doing fine.

[@CarolineVisArt]

I Just discouver your channel...very interesting..this is going to take time to discover!

[@aants.kawisar1420]

I like your works. art begins with everyday objects around us. I also present the same thing, and now I try to explore it through my video. regards

[@Dedjkeorrn42]

Book of human with the front face of the book your face. The spine is your spine. The back is your back skin. The pages are made from your skin with your diary written over them with your blood.

[@ramin.amintafreshi]

@the art assignment: Happy Biiiirthday Art Assignment! 🥳🥳 with a little delay! 🥰❤

[@yanliang6590]

Your books are amazing!!! Where I could buy those fabrics for making the hardcover?

[@Shemendyk]

I'm sure everyone will like at least one mk !!! And he will find his model!

[@OrionUlttramarino]

Missing u :(

[@V__RR]

now this is art

[@LuckyLifeguard]

I ADORE THIS

[@pavelr3119]

Idea giveaway: a book that has binding from two opposite sides, so you can't open it =)

[@aarya1467]

That would be perfect for school textbooks

[@kennedyfranklin3975]

Herron School of Art + Design in Indianapolis has a great library of unusual books like this.

[@trevorjones8969]

Can you make an Ice book? I kinda wanna have a go....

[@theartassignment]

Yes! Would love to see an ice book.

[@jwc3o2]

@@theartassignment a friend has been collecting different plastic ice bags for years with the idea of printing the graphics of each onto stiff acetates until he has a stack the size of an ice block then binding them. wish to hell he'd get it finished...

[@7heavenlyvirtues]

Amazing ☺

[@irina9339]

Thank you!!

[@ilr0927]

I need a video on neoexpressionism I’m ready interested in it but can’t seem to find much about it

[@weirdral]

This makes me think of the slices of cheese book, with slices of wrapped American cheese singles.