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"Where From and To: Multiple Bookworks, 1960 to the Present"

"Where From and To" curated by Betty Bright, Ph.D, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

The Library is pleased to present, WHERE FROM AND TO: MULTIPLE BOOKWORKS, 1960 TO THE PRESENT, curated by scholar Betty Bright, PhD.

This exhibition of over 20 works selected from the Artists’ Books Collection is being held in conjunction with MCAD Open Classroom, Wednesday, March 21, 2012. That day Dr. Bright gave a presentation in Dr. Philip Larson’s “History of Print / Paper / Book” class in Auditorium 140, 10:45 am – Noon.

To read Dr. Bright’s essay that accompanies the exhibit, click HERE.

The exhibition is now on view in the main reading room of the Library through mid April.

Betty Bright is the author of No Longer Innocent: Book Art in America, 1960 to 1980, the first comprehensive history of the book art movement in America.

Sneak Peek!

Sneak Peek!, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

Some rearranging is going on in the Library's Main Reading Room in anticipation of an exhibition of artists' books opening March 21.  Watch this space!

"New Reading Experiences" from students in Creative Writing

"New Reading Experiences" from students in Creative Writing, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

Lightsey Darst's Creative Writing students have installed work in the Library's card catalog.

Stop by the Library today & play!

Cave: Handmade Paper & the Artful Book

Left to right, Amanda Degener and Bridget O'Malley (both facing camera) speak with visitors after the lecture.

Books and paper samples were on display to be handled after the lecture.

This past Saturday, Amanda Degener and Bridget O’Malley of Cave Paper presented a lecture at the MIA. Cave: Handmade Paper & the Artful Book showcased Artists’ Books created using cave paper as well as the personal work of Degener and O’Malley. Friends since 1985 and business partners since 1994, Degener explains, “We are two very different people but what we have in common is that working with paper is our life’s work”. This common goal has continued to serve them as they work side by side to create one of a kind paper in high demand among book artists around the world.

At this point in the lecture, a video showed the physical and monotonous process of making paper. “It’s nice to do the same thing over and over and have that connection with the earth.” Degener continues, “Call it meditation if you will…” This process starting with raw materials and ending with sometimes five layers of dye is nothing short of a labor of love.

After showing a series of images of Artists’ Books using Cave Paper, Degener and O’Malley go on to explain that the thing they are most proud of is their internship program. They have hosted more than 80 interns accomplished in a variety of different media. They feel it is there responsibility to pass on their knowledge to a younger generation so that they may continue the craft of papermaking.

Degener closed by reading Essence by Stuart Kestenbaum, she explains, “as artists, you boil things down to their essence”. That is what Cave Paper is all about.

For more information on Cave Paper, visit: cavepaper.com

For information on Art-a-Whirl, a papermaking event mentioned during the lecture, visit: nemma.org

Library Display: Papermaking

Library Display: Papermaking, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

In conjunction with the upcoming MIA lecture, Cave: Handmade Paper and the Artful Book, papermaking resources are on display in the MCAD Library.

Also, on display from the Artists' Books Collection are Tamashi by Amanda Degener and Winter Reader by Louise Erdrich. Both books feature the work of this Saturday's lecturers, Amanda Degener and Bridget O'malley of Cave Paper.

Stop by and check it out today!

Library Display by Reading & Writing II Students

Library Display by Reading & Writing II Students, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

Students in Dr. Jen Caruso's Reading & Writing II class installed work in the library's card catalogue. Functioning as a cabinet of curiosities, the card catalogue is filled with items referencing the work of Charles Darwin.

Stop by today and check it out!

Library Display: James Casebere

Library Display: James Casebere, a photo by MCAD Library on Flickr.

The Library's new display features work of this weeks visiting artist, James Casebere.

The display also includes Casebere's Artists' Book titled "In the Second Half of the Twentieth Century..."

MCAD alumni (BFA '76) James Casebere's, pioneering work has established him at the forefront of artists working with constructed photography. Early bodies of work focused
on images of the suburban home. He followed this with both photographs and sculptural installations dealing with the myth of the American West. In the early 1990s, Casebere turned his attention to the development of different cultural institutions during the enlightenment and their representation as architectural types.

The lecture will be held in Auditorium 150 on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 1pm.

Liberal Arts Works in Progress : Learning and Doing

Thursday, February 16
Auditorium 140
noon–1:00 p.m.

Allan T. Kohl, Library
“Paint, Print & Pixels: Learning from the History of Teaching with Images"
*12:10-12:30
Visual Resources Librarian since 1987, Kohl is past-President (and now Treasurer-Elect) of the Visual Resources Association, the “international organization of image media professionals.” His work focuses on copyright issues affecting the use of images in the educational environment, and also the interaction of high art and popular visual culture in late 19th and early 20th century materials.


Diana Green, Liberal Arts
12:30-12:50
Diana Green is adjunct faculty in Liberal Arts, and has also taught studio courses and continues to produce her own art. She will discuss the challenges and rewards of juggling a career in academia and a studio practice. She will attempt to address the question of whether one can serve two (or more) masters in profession and do justice to them all!

Mike Kelley: 1954-2012

The library has a display of books in honor of artist Mike Kelley, who passed away January 31st. The display includes Kelley's 1986 Artists' Book, Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile. Kelley's installation, of the same title, concluded with a performance at Artists Space in New York. The performance text, rewritten in prose, was published in book form.

For more information on Mike Kelley and the performance of Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile, visit: sonicyouth.com

Fine Press Book Designer and Illustrator, Schanilec, at Groveland

Now we can go to Groveland Gallery Annex and see the beautiful engravings of Gaylord Schanilec on the walls instead of in the pages of books.  We can stand and take in successive prints in one sweep of the eyes.  Here you will see a variety of his works from various books: cross-sections of lumber from Slyvae, New York street scenes from The Bicycle Diaries, detailed close-ups of insects from Mayflies of the Driftless Region, small town buildings from House in the Country, and water overflowing cliffs from Waterfalls of the Mississippi.  His work is exquisitely rendered and haunting, which makes it easy to understand how he has won the Carl Hertzog Award and The American Institute of Graphic Arts Award of Excellence.

You may be familiar with his books or have seen his illustrations for writers, such as  W. P. Kinsella, Anthony Bukowski, Meridel Le Seur, Thomas McGrath, Mary Logue, Bill Holm, Jon Hassler and many others.  In our library you may have seen any of the six books we have, four of which are in our Artists' Books Collection.  Whether you have seen these and loved them or are unfamiliar with his work, you now have an opportunity to see his color wood engravings in a different way.  Observing them in a gallery will change your experience of viewing and appreciating the images because they will exist without words, as an entirety of their own.  Go and see what happens when you gaze at "Cherry long-grain", "Lilydale Ice Falls" or "Lexington Avenue".  Then come back and look at the his books in our collection for an intimate viewing with texts.

Eva Hyvarinen, Visual Resource Assistant
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Great Slide Giveaway

The MCAD Library has recently downsized and decommissioned the old Slide Library as part of our transition to the use of digital images as primary teaching resources.  We now have on hand many thousands of glass-mounted slides in good condition that are of no further use to us.  But we don't want to just toss them in the trash!

Consequently, we will be having a "Great Slide Give-away" this next week for any of you who wish to acquire selected slides for your personal use.  The Give-away will be held in the main reading room of the Library during the week of January 30-February 3.  Give-away slides will be available at a designated light table for your picking and choosing, along with assorted slide boxes and cartons for storage.  We also have available to good homes several surplus slide cabinets and drawers, plus boxed slide carousel trays.  All for the taking!  Select one – or a dozen – or a hundred!

Students are welcome to use these slides in creative projects, and photos of sample projects are available on request.

Artists' Books Collection: ON DISPLAY

The newest additions to the Artists’ Books Collection are currently on display in the MCAD Library.

Biography, the 2011 MCBA Prize Winner by Sarah Bryant.

"Biography is an examination of the chemical elements in the human body and the roles they play elsewhere in the world. This book grew out of my desire to use the periodic table, our visual method of categorizing every particle of matter in the universe, as a tool for creating a portrait of a human being, the viewer of the book. We are composed of a finite number of elements, each of which has a rich life outside of our bodies making up critical components of the physical world and the tools that we produce and use to measure and investigate that world.”
- Sarah Bryant

Come and Get It, the 2011 MCAD Winter Book by Kevin Kling with illustrations by Michael Sommers.

"I am so excited to be working with Minnesota Center for Book Arts. It's truly an honor. The authors they have represented are among the finest of our generation. My stories come from the spoken word and because of that don't often translate well to the page. The key to success is finding a way to visually represent 'the voice'. I'm very pleased with the care and quality the book arts creators provide each publication. From the handmade paper, the color of paper and ink, the textures... it gives the work a visceral quality. The use of Michael Sommers' incredible imagery heightens the experience as well. I love his work, it stands as a story on its own. These elements combine to give a new experience to the text: not performance, not a read, something entirely on its own. I'm thrilled with the product." - Kevin Kling