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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

Designers & Books

The Library knows that just because the semester is over doesn’t mean creative people turn their brains off!  That's why we know you'd love to check out this website Designers & Books! 

It profiles 87 participating designers to showcase what books have been most influential to each artist’s creative process. Currently there are 1,124 books that have been selected, and a new list is added each week.  Take a peek!

Is your favorite designer on the list????

http://www.designersandbooks.com/

The Chapbook: From Peddled Pamphlet to Artists' Book

In conjunction with the exhibition in Stackroom 2 by Lightsey Darst's Creative Writing & Introduction to Poetry students, the Library presents, The Chapbook: a History; From Peddled Pamphlet to Artist's Book in the Main Reading Room.

Our display features selected chapbooks from the Artists' Books Collection, chapbooks of Beat Poetry from the historic Pocket Poet Series published by City Lights Books from the general collection, selected articles about the chapbook form & literary genre, plus an essay by Library graduate assistant, Kate Thomas.

For More photos of both displays visit: Flickr

MCBA's Winter Books from the Artists' Books Collection are on display!

Since 1988, MCBA's annual Winter Book has engaged artists, designers, papermakers, printers, bookbinders and community volunteers in producing a handmade, limited edition artist's book featuring poetry or prose by a Minnesota author.

The 7^th annual Winter Book, The West Pole, features handmade paper and walnut stained cover papers.

The 8^th annual Winter Book is hand bound with handmade paper over boards, enclosed in a box, with a removable print.

The 13^th annual Winter Book, Ice Walk, features paper bound text and 10 loose prints in glasine sleeves, all housed in cloth-bound portfolio letterpress printing.

The 17^th annual Winter Book, There is No Other Way to Speak, features illustrations and letterpressed text with an exposed long-stitch binding.

The 2011 Winter Book, Come and Get It, will be released December 10th! For more information, visit: MCBA

Capture the Floating World (Ukiyo-e) - Take in the MIA Exhibition Today

Utamaro, Kitagawa
Woman Holding a Comb
color woodblock print
ca. 1798
Art Institute of Chicago

In the rush of your life, take an hour to walk next-door to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where you can experience the fleeting moments of the people of Edo (1603-1868) Japan.  This was a time of urbanization when people were leaving their rural lifestyles to embrace the prospects of the cities. It was time when a large number of people could attempt to make their lives more than mere survival.  It was a time when people could seek novelty and pursue pleasures.

Many city-dwellers now had time and money to spend and they had abundant decadent options to choose from. Among these were the lively dramatic kabuki theater performances, the so-called "pleasure quarters" where men could spend time with beautiful and entertaining women, whether sexually or not.  In addition, they could take in poetry readings, dance recitals, celebrate festivals, enjoy tea in ceremonies, and eat at the many new restaurants.

Another result of their moving to cities was the loss of the natural world.  They came to cherish the beauty of nature in the small, changing details of the cherry blossoms or maple leaves.  To retain these natural experiences in their minds, they could buy artists' renderings of these flowers and trees to adorn their walls.

Since their wealth allowed them to travel for pleasure, they could see for themselves the famous and beautiful scenes they had read about in literature. And again, they could buy prints of these landscapes, whether or not they had actually seen them. These provided them a window into the natural world they had left behind.

Iona Rozeal Brown
a3 blackface #58
acrylic/paper 50x38"
2003

The artists of the day tried to capture these moments in their wood-block prints, which they produced in multiples for sale to these city-dwellers.  They were very successful in creating both hauntingly beautiful prints and in representing the times in which they lived.

We, and all the artists after them, are very fortunate to be able to glimpse this world.  From the 19th century, when Westerners first saw these Japanese ukiyo-e prints, through today they have inspired many artists from Van Gogh to  Iona Rozeal Brown.  You can see the work of  twelve of these modern day variants in the second part of the show.

Before or after seeing the exhibition you can take a look at our books, both on ukiyo-e prints and on some of the best-known practitioners, like Harunobu, Utamaro, Sharaku, Hokusai and Hiroshige.  We also have a new book about Iona Rozeal Brown's recent exhibition of paintings, which she models directly on ukiyo-e prints. She is quite an inspiration herself.

So, go. Divert yourself in just floating, floating... at the MIA

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

These images were chosen as illustrations for this article and do not represent actual pieces in the exhibition.

The Artist in Fiction: Artists have Stories, Told and Untold, Real and Imaginary

Magpie of the Gallows-Pieter Bruegel

Road with Two Cypresses-Vincent van Gogh

Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace-Frida Kahlo

Novelists, of course, love a good story and they have often found great stories in the lives of artists.  It seems that writers prefer artists over, for example politicians or businessmen.  Is this because they identify more with artists or because they find better stories in these artistic people? 

Certainly, plenty of artists have had colorful lives and have embraced the essence of the times in which they lived.  Therefore, writers and filmmakers can use them to illuminate a time and place. However, I think the more compelling reason that storytellers are drawn to artists is because they themselves have been entranced by the artists' works. 

They experienced a Van Gogh painting of an almost other-worldly landscape, one so much like what they have known, but with the odd skewed quality that actually seems to have more clarity and which reminded them of the magic in life.

Or they looked at Frida Kahlo's self-portraits and saw both the beauty and the horror of living.  And in seeing these paintings or seeing "Incredulity of Saint Thomas" by Caravaggio or "Magpie of the Gallows" by Bruegel they were drawn in to the artist's world by the details and suggestions.  Even in Mary Cassatt's portraits of her sickly sister or the self-portraits of Rembrandt they could see the stories the artists were telling and not quite telling.

Lydia working at a tapestry frame-Mary Cassatt

Incredulity of St. Thomas-Caravaggio

They perceived both the projected subjects, but also the hidden stories of the artists themselves. Consequently, they wanted to know and to reveal the details of these hidden stories. In some cases they had to create the missing story-pieces needed to complete the puzzles of unknown lives.  In doing so, they have created  fun, intriguing stories to read or watch. 

We have assembled, at our main library desk, these novels and films from a variety of artists through time and from many parts of the world.  You can experience the world of Piranesi in 18th century Rome, Vermeer in 17th century Holland, Audubon in 19th century Louisiana, or Pan Yuliang in 20th century Shanghai, among many others.

Self-portrait with Beret and Turned up Collar-Rembrandt

In addition to this biographical fiction, we have also gathered some purely fictionalized stories involving artists, students, historians, forgers, curators, models, and museum guards.  These show how art affects not just it's creator, but all the people who interact with it, sometimes in astonishing ways as in the Madonnas of Leningrad.

Pick one or more and enter into these imagined artist's worlds.  You might find that you identify with the difficulties and aspirations of the characters and come to appreciate their art in a way you wouldn't have without knowing their stories.

For those of you who are not able to come in to our library, you can take a look at our list of works, which are grouped by type and then alphabetically by title:

Novels  (Biographical)
The Agony and the Ecstasy, a Novel of Michelangelo / Irving Stone [Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564]
Artemisia : a Novel / Alexandra Lapierre [Gentileschi, Artemisia, 1593-1652]
The Artist's Wife : a Novel / Max Phillips [Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969; Klimt, Gustav, 1862-1918; Kokoschka, Oskar, 1886-1980; Mahler, Alma, 1879-1964; Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911]
As Above, so Below : a Novel of Peter Bruegel / Rudy Rucker [Bruegel, Pieter, ca. 1525-1569]
Audubon's Watch : a Novel / John Gregory Brown [Audubon, John James, 1785-1851]
Burnt Umber : a Novel / by Sheldon Greene [Marc, Franz, 1880-1916]
Clara and Mr. Tiffany / Susan Vreeland [Driscoll, Clara, 1861-1944; Tiffany, Louis Comfort, 1848-1933]
Depths of Glory : a Biographical Novel of Camille Pissarro / by Irving Stone [Pissarro, Camille, 1830-1903]
The Forest Lover / Susan Vreeland [Carr, Emily, 1871-1945]
Girl in Hyacinth Blue / Susan Vreeland [Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675]
Girl with a Pearl Earring / Tracy Chevalier [Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675]
In the Casa Azul : a Novel of Revolution and Betrayal / Meaghan Delahunt [Kahlo, Frida]
Incantation of Frida K. / Kate Braverman [Kahlo, Frida; Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957]
La Tour Dreams of the Wolf Girl / David Huddle [La Tour, Georges du Mesnil de, 1593-1652]
Light / Eva Figes [Monet, Claude, 1840-1926]
The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals : a Novel / Michael Kernan [Hals, Frans, 1584-1666]
Lust for life, a Novel of Vincent van Gogh / Irving Stone [Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890]
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper : a Novel / by Harriet Scott Chessman [Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926]
Michelangelo, the Florentine; a Novel by Sidney Alexander [Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564]
The Painted Room : a Tale of Mantua / Inger Christensen [Mantegna, Andrea, 1431-1506]
The Painter from Shanghai / Jennifer Cody Epstein [Pan, Yuliang, 1895-1977]
Painting in a Man's World / Diane Broeckhoven ... et al. [Bracquemond, Marie, 1841-1916; Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926; Gonzalès, Eva, 1849-1883; Morisot, Berthe, 1841-1895]
The Passion of Artemisia / Susan Vreeland [Gentileschi, Artemisia, 1593-1652]
Piranesi's Dream : a Novel / by Gerhard Köpf [Piranesi, Giovanni Battista, 1720-1778]
Portrait of an Unknown Woman / Vanora Bennett [Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543]
Rembrandt, a Novel / Gladys Schmitt [Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669]
The Venetian : a Novel / by David Weiss [Titian, ca. 1488-1576]
Vincent; a Novel Based on the Life of Van Gogh / Joost Poldermans  [Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890]
The Years with Laura Díaz / Carlos Fuentes [Kahlo, Frida; Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957]

Films (Biographical)
Andrei Rublev : the Passion According to Andrei
Basquiat [Basquiat, Jean Michel]
Camille Claudel [Claudel, Camille; Rodin, Auguste, 1840-1917]
Caravaggio [Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, 1573-1610]
Crumb [Crumb, R.]
Dream of light : Quince Tree of the Sun [López-García, Antonio, 1936- ]
Edvard Munch [Munch, Edvard, 1863-1944]
Frida [Kahlo, Frida]
Girl with a Pearl Earring [Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675]
I shot Andy Warhol [Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987]
Love is the devil [Bacon, Francis, 1909-1992]
Lust for life [Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890]
Surviving Picasso [Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973]

Novels (Fictional artists)
Art & lies : a Piece for Three Voices and a Bawd / Jeanette Winterson
An Artist of the Floating World / Kazuo Ishiguro
The Birth of Venus : a Novel / Sarah Dunant
The Body Artist / Don DeLillo
Cat's Eye / Margaret Atwood
The Cheese Monkeys : a Novel in Two Semesters / by Chip Kidd
Conversations with a Clown / Michael Welzenbach
The Flanders Panel / Arturo Pérez-Reverte
The Horse's Mouth : a Novel / by Joyce Cary
Islands in the Stream / Ernest Hemingway
The Lady and the Unicorn / Tracy Chevalier
The Learners : the Book after "The Cheese Monkeys" / by Chip Kidd
Madonnas of Leningrad / Debra Dean
The Moon and Sixpence / W. Somerset Maugham
My Name is Red / Orhan Pamuk
Niche : a Novel / by Séguier and Plessis
Of Human Bondage / W. Somerset Maugham
On Beauty : a Novel / by Zadie Smith
Orchard : a Novel / Larry Watson
A Painter of Our Time / John Berger
Quattrocento : a Novel / James McKean
The Third Eye / by Mike Rogers
365 Views of Mt. Fuji : Algorithms of the Floating World / Todd Shimoda
The Time Traveler's Wife : a Novel / by Audrey Niffenegger
What's Bred in the Bone / Robertson Davies
When the Sons of Heaven Meet the Daughters of the Earth : a Novel / by Fernanda Eberstadt
A Window Across the River  / Brian Morton
A World to Come / Dara Horn

Films (Fictional artists)
Blood of a poet
Me and you and everyone we know
The Moderns
Moulin Rouge
Pecker

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