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September 2015
Review About Books Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College Reviewed by C.J. Shane |
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Julie Chen_Cat's Cradle_
Tucson has emerged as an important center for book arts in the American West. It is not surprising, then, that art lovers are seeing quality exhibitions more frequently in Tucson. Some of these exhibits will include a handful of artist’s books, and occasionally we see exhibits made up entirely of artist’s books. In the summer of 2015, we enjoyed an important all-book arts exhibition at the University of Arizona Poetry Center which was cosponsored by PaperWorks: the Sonoran Collective of Paper and Book Artists. The University of Arizona Special Collections has had book arts exhibits.
Now at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery on Pima Community College’s West Campus we can enjoy an art exhibit devoted entirely to books. However, this exhibit actually mixes two different concepts related to the idea of “book.” Consequently, the two exhibits in the same space are only loosely related: First are artist’s books, a form or genre of art making, in which each artist’s book addresses a different theme or topic – just like one might see an exhibit of paintings in which each painting addresses a different theme or topic. Second in the Bernal Gallery exhibit are artworks of various media (painting, sculpture, etc.) that purport to address the idea of the book as a cultural artifact or concept. The conceptual notion of “the book” as a cultural artifact is less successful than are the artist’s books in this exhibit.
Well-known California book artist Julie Chen’s Cat’s Cradle appears on the art card for this exhibit. Chen’s is a carousel (star) book of four levels created from laser cut papers. The attention to detail is great in this book, even making sure we see shadows on the back layer of the structure as we contemplate the notions of beginning, existing, and ending.
Now at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery on Pima Community College’s West Campus we can enjoy an art exhibit devoted entirely to books. However, this exhibit actually mixes two different concepts related to the idea of “book.” Consequently, the two exhibits in the same space are only loosely related: First are artist’s books, a form or genre of art making, in which each artist’s book addresses a different theme or topic – just like one might see an exhibit of paintings in which each painting addresses a different theme or topic. Second in the Bernal Gallery exhibit are artworks of various media (painting, sculpture, etc.) that purport to address the idea of the book as a cultural artifact or concept. The conceptual notion of “the book” as a cultural artifact is less successful than are the artist’s books in this exhibit.
Well-known California book artist Julie Chen’s Cat’s Cradle appears on the art card for this exhibit. Chen’s is a carousel (star) book of four levels created from laser cut papers. The attention to detail is great in this book, even making sure we see shadows on the back layer of the structure as we contemplate the notions of beginning, existing, and ending.
JRisseeuw_Road Kill_
Retired Arizona State University professor John Risseeuw has done a masterful job of combining all the components that make an artist’s book to create artworks which address compelling ideas and concepts. By “components” of a book, we refer to Risseeuw’s handmade paper with letterpress text and lithographed and screen printed images. His artist’s books are truly handmade from pulp to the final fold or stitch.
Rosseeuw's book Roadkill is a bostrophedon structure with pamphlet stitched insert at the center fold that addresses the American obsession with motor vehicles and the price that we pay for that obsession.
(click on all images to enlarge)
Rosseeuw's book Roadkill is a bostrophedon structure with pamphlet stitched insert at the center fold that addresses the American obsession with motor vehicles and the price that we pay for that obsession.
(click on all images to enlarge)
JRisseeuw, MPrentice _Spiritland_
Risseeuw’s Boom! movingly reveals the facts and the trauma associated with landmines. The paper in this book was made from landmine victims’ clothing. The accordion-fold structure includes map images and text of places in the world where land mines have been especially destructive.
Spiritland, was created by Risseeuw and Oregon artist Margaret Prentice who along with her sister Kathryn Clark founded TwinRocker Handmade Paper. Spiritland was created of woodcuts and letterpress text on handmade paper, and it includes the poem "Sonoran Desert Unfolding" by Gary Paul Nabhan and the poem "Oregon Reunion of the Rare" by Kim Stafford. Risseeuw’s books are complex and multi-faceted, and at the same time they present an elegant simplicity.
Spiritland, was created by Risseeuw and Oregon artist Margaret Prentice who along with her sister Kathryn Clark founded TwinRocker Handmade Paper. Spiritland was created of woodcuts and letterpress text on handmade paper, and it includes the poem "Sonoran Desert Unfolding" by Gary Paul Nabhan and the poem "Oregon Reunion of the Rare" by Kim Stafford. Risseeuw’s books are complex and multi-faceted, and at the same time they present an elegant simplicity.
CNash_Step without Feet_
Another artist in the Bernal Gallery exhibit who also shows the dedication to both artistic concept and attention to the craft of bookmaking is Catherine Nash. She has three books in this exhibit, each one more creative and innovative than the last. Her Step without Feet is a accordion book emerging from a found wooden structure that was created of handmade paper dyed with indigo ink. The handwritten text is a poem from Rumi illustrated with cosmic stars.
Other book artists in this exhibit with creative structures include Margaret Suchland, a very versatile artist who shares with us her delightful Film Noir, an artist’s book that as a roll of old film with mysterious images and words on the surface of the film. Beata Wehr shares her highly textured, hand sewn fabric book of found metal objects, Book 150, Stories from Fremont Street. This book brings forth a sense of the passage of time, of inevitable change, and of loss. Alice Vinson, formerly of Tucson, has a beautiful Coptic stitched binding (one of only two Coptic bindings in the exhibit) on her Coming Up for Air with intriguing images on its pages.
Other book artists in this exhibit with creative structures include Margaret Suchland, a very versatile artist who shares with us her delightful Film Noir, an artist’s book that as a roll of old film with mysterious images and words on the surface of the film. Beata Wehr shares her highly textured, hand sewn fabric book of found metal objects, Book 150, Stories from Fremont Street. This book brings forth a sense of the passage of time, of inevitable change, and of loss. Alice Vinson, formerly of Tucson, has a beautiful Coptic stitched binding (one of only two Coptic bindings in the exhibit) on her Coming Up for Air with intriguing images on its pages.
HKyle_Soap Opera
Curator and Pima CC art professor David Andres invited some nationally well-known book artists to participate in this exhibit. Chief among them is Hedi Kyle who is one of the best-known book artists in the world. Kyle, who invented the flag book, the blizzard book, and other unique book structures, shares with us her beautifully designed Soap Opera I and Soap Opera II, both simple accordion structures with subtle and colorful illustrations telling the story of amber-trapped insects.
Laura Russell of 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, Oregon takes us on journey from Canada to Mexico along Highway 99 in her Road Trip. She documents the memorable iconic signs we see on those road trips that we Americans love so much. Nancy Tokar Miller’s beautiful illustrations accompany Kathleen Fraser’s poems in a lovely book titled Witness created by Charles Alexander of Tucson’s Chax Press. Steve Phillips has a simple accordion structure with complex imagery on both sides of the accordion in his In Memoriam (lots of stories captured in this book’s tin type images).
Laura Russell of 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, Oregon takes us on journey from Canada to Mexico along Highway 99 in her Road Trip. She documents the memorable iconic signs we see on those road trips that we Americans love so much. Nancy Tokar Miller’s beautiful illustrations accompany Kathleen Fraser’s poems in a lovely book titled Witness created by Charles Alexander of Tucson’s Chax Press. Steve Phillips has a simple accordion structure with complex imagery on both sides of the accordion in his In Memoriam (lots of stories captured in this book’s tin type images).
DFigueredo_Untitled #3_
There is a type of artist’s book referred to as an “altered book” in which an actual book is substantially changed and yet is still recognizable as a book. There are some great examples of altered books in this exhibit.
Denise Figueredo says a lot with no words at all in her History of the World, an altered book holding blank bullet cartridges.
Her Untitled #3 is made up of a series of books altered with wax and thread into what could be building blocks. And are not the words in books the building blocks for ideas?
Denise Figueredo says a lot with no words at all in her History of the World, an altered book holding blank bullet cartridges.
Her Untitled #3 is made up of a series of books altered with wax and thread into what could be building blocks. And are not the words in books the building blocks for ideas?
HLohr_We've Got Three More Days_
One of the most beautiful pieces in the exhibit is Helmut Lohr’s We’ve Got Three More Days in which we see the actual pages of a book torn and spread into a beautiful mandala form. There’s also Nick Georgiou’s Ibenez. Georgiou's works have been referred to as “altered books” although they stretch the definition of altered book. The bookishness of his work disappears quickly into the portraits he forms from deconstructed books.
The other artworks in this exhibit of various genres and media are less successful simply because they are relatively unfocused and only weakly address the cultural concept of “book.” Seeing a girl reading a book in an oil painting, or a book in bronze accompanied by fruit, or historical documents with drawings on them and mounted in wooden frames, or an entire wall devoted to acrylic paintings loosely linked to an artist’s sketchbook/journal – all these seem to use books more as props and not as the focus of exploratory investigation about books. A very large scale archival print…..of a photograph…..of a portrait…..created from old books…..is too far removed from any meaningful concept of the book in our culture.
We can only hope the next time we visit an exhibit about books, the focus will be solely on artist’s books. Artist’s books are quite capable of addressing the notion of the book as a cultural concept….and a whole lot more as well.
About Books will be on display through October 9, 2015 at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College West Campus. For more information, go to:
https://www.pima.edu/community/the-arts/louis-carlos-bernal-gallery/index.html
~~C.J. Shane
The other artworks in this exhibit of various genres and media are less successful simply because they are relatively unfocused and only weakly address the cultural concept of “book.” Seeing a girl reading a book in an oil painting, or a book in bronze accompanied by fruit, or historical documents with drawings on them and mounted in wooden frames, or an entire wall devoted to acrylic paintings loosely linked to an artist’s sketchbook/journal – all these seem to use books more as props and not as the focus of exploratory investigation about books. A very large scale archival print…..of a photograph…..of a portrait…..created from old books…..is too far removed from any meaningful concept of the book in our culture.
We can only hope the next time we visit an exhibit about books, the focus will be solely on artist’s books. Artist’s books are quite capable of addressing the notion of the book as a cultural concept….and a whole lot more as well.
About Books will be on display through October 9, 2015 at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College West Campus. For more information, go to:
https://www.pima.edu/community/the-arts/louis-carlos-bernal-gallery/index.html
~~C.J. Shane
