As week 7 comes to an end, my thought process behind the book as an object has become more open ended than it has ever been. Borsuk in Chapter 3, of The Book, explains “Our changing idea of the book is co-constitutive of its changing structure” `(195). This statement perfectly shows that the bookishness of a book depends on the evolution of humans’ idea of a book. Artists such as Doug Beube have pushed the creative limits of the book as a medium. Dr. Pressman has stated in one of our first times in the Special Collections Lab that artists are supposed to challenge dominant narratives and push boundaries, and that is exactly what we see in this week’s readings. Doug Beube states in “Bookwork and Bookishness: An interview with Doug Beube and Brian Dettmer by Jessica Pressman, “Artists like myself pull the book apart to show that it is no longer the only way to present knowledge and information.” In the Digital Age, we focus primarily on a book’s content and solely focus on the words written on the pages. However, Beube’s work maximizes a books fluidity and confronts the idea that a book’s durability and immutable qualities. He challenges the readers to not overlook the stories and meanings embedded in the bookishness of the book itself, especially the physical and conceptual presence.

While browsing through Doug Beube’s remarkable artwork, I found myself seeing the book through a completely new lens. I no longer saw the book as a container of knowledge, but as an artwork that embodies its own narrative. I was particularly drawn to his piece Cuff. Before reading Beube’s explanation, I wrote my own interpretation “One is shackled and confined by the need to acquire all knowledge. One who is consumed with needing to know all will not feel the liberation of life.” I learned that Beube’s own description mirrored my definition. He interprets the work as reflecting how the censorship and restriction of knowledge parallel the culture of bondage and dominatrix, where readers experience pleasure through the restraint of knowledge itself. Beube’s work ultimately invites us to question not only how we consume knowledge, but also how we are bound by our search of it. In this way, the book ceases to be a mere object or container. I now truly see how the book is a living form that continues to evolve with our relationship with information, creativity, and artistry.