MNHS acquires two artist books by Victor Van

Interact is pleased to announce that the Minnesota Historical Society has acquired two artist books by Victor Van.

July 16, 2026

Exploring translations of found audio, imagery, and animation, Van’s books are part of a larger body of work that he has continued for over a decade. In KS95 Best Variety Songs 2019-23, a small hand bound book, Van transcribes the lyrics of songs he heard on a Twin Cities pop radio station during a four-year period. His handwriting, which is so small that it is hardly legible, fills over 150 pages. In Land of OOO by Finn Jake Fan, Van transcribes found text from the website fanfiction.net, creating a devotional physical form for a story that was posted on the message board in 2013. In Van’s book, Fin Jake Fan’s 10,000-word narrative, which follows various characters from Adventure Time, is transcribed over 142 pages. Van adds illustrations of the characters and fanciful chapter pages throughout. Together, the books ruminate on pop culture, consumption, and fandom, situating mass-produced content and goods within intimately detailed, labor-intensive, one-of-a-kind works. 

“Victor Van's books will be available through the Gale Family Library, where visitors can access them in the reading room,” says Cate Cooney, Senior Curator and Patrick Coleman Chair of Maps, Rare Books, and Print Culture at MNHS. “The MNHS collection of around 400 artists’ books focuses on Minnesota: the land, the events that shape our lives, and the people who form our communities. Van’s work brings a needed voice to the collection.” 

Van (b. 1993) has practiced at Interact since 2016. He presented his debut solo exhibition, Great Expectations, at Open Studio Gallery in New York earlier this year, and his work is also in the collection of the Walker Art Center. Van was featured in Interact’s booth at the Outsider Art Fair in New York in March 2026. 

Image description: Van's book, Land of OOO, has a hand-lettered and drawn cover. It reads, "In the Land of OOO by Finn Jake Fan" and "CARTOON NETWORK'S TECHNICOLOR TRIUMPH!" Small, colorful drawings of characters from "Adventuretime" the show are drawn amongst fields of text.