Peter Bushell
Associate Professor of Graphic Design, School of Art, Illinois State University Abecedarian Explorations in Book Arts
Our familiarity with language and today’s overwhelming daily barrage of information can make us take letters for granted. Occasionally these letters are brought back to our attention as a thematic structure in advertising and other media as well as the obligatory children’s ABC book. Books that are organized alphabetically are unique opportunities to celebrate the familiarity of letterforms while experiencing a variety of themes. Peter Bushell will discuss the abecedarian effort in book arts and explore a range of experiences with abecedarian books.
Deborah Cornell
Chair of Printmaking, School of Visual Arts, Boston University Animated Pages: The Virtual (R)evolution of the Book
Movement through space, time, and materiality are the prime underpinnings of the artist book form. Elements of structure, sequencing, and position—whether hidden or overt—shape a time-based experience, an imagined, created space that can be at once “read” and felt. Deborah Cornell will discuss how these elements of the book translate into diverse contemporary forms such as video and virtual reality. The presentation will focus on her explorations in this field as well as the work by other artists who also create time-based experiences which incorporate elements of the book form.
Steven Daiber
Proprietor of Red Trillium Press Chasing Commies: Printing, Teaching and Collaboration in Havana and Hanoi
Steve Daiber will discuss his experiences working with local art communities in Cuba and Vietnam and facilitating collaborative book projects. Since 2001, Daiber has traveled to Cuba every year, working with and teaching at various print shops and studios as well as at San Alejandro Art Academy and the Institute of Superior Arts in Havana. In 2008, he was an artist-in-residence in Vietnam, co-sponsored by Boston Printmakers and the United States Cultural Envoy Program. Daiber will return to Havana in February 2011.
Ann Kalmbach
Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Studio Workshop Terez Iacovino
Former intern and current AmeriCorps Papermaking Program Coordinator, Women’s Studio Workshop Fiber, Paper, Book
Women’s Studio Workshop has been making paper by hand since 1978 which led to explorations in growing traditional papermaking fibers and experimenting with indigenous plant material to further enhance the capacity of handmade paper to meet the needs of printmaking and book artists. Ann Kalmbach and Terez Iacovino will introduce related WSW programs such as ArtFarm and HandsOn Art as well as a other projects WSW has supported over the years.
Vicki Lee
Head of Conservation Lab, Maryland State Archives Introduction to Books and Activities of Guild of Book Workers, Potomac Chapter
The Guild Chapter will introduce the broad range of work and play by guild members. The presentation will include work in conservation and books as art as well as information on workshops, tours, and fellowships.
Harry Lee Poe
Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture, Union University & President of the Board of Directors, Edgar Allan Poe Museum Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe Few people realize that Edgar Allan Poe created the mystery story. Fewer people still realize that he did so as part of a larger project that would involve his original proposal of what we now call the Big Bang Theory. Poe’s creative imagination took him on a quest to understand the whole universe and how it fit together.
Tony White
Head of the Fine Arts Library, Indiana University Bloomington & Field Editor for Artist’s Books and Books for Artists, CAA.Reviews The (R)evolution of the Democratic Multiple: Post-Millennial Artist Published Multiples
From offset and other print media, such as copy art, to print on demand and new digital-on-demand technologies, how has this shift transformed the notion of the democratic multiple? Tony White will introduce the historic context of the democratic multiple and discuss the production of contemporary artists’ books following the tradition of the democratic multiple. The presentation will focus on contemporary practices and publishing models of post-democratic multiples from the mid-1990s to the present.
