Artists’ Books News, August 2017
Exhibitions
Seeing Through Drawing
A Celebration of John Berger at Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich
Until 26th August 2017
‘Seeing Through Drawing’ is a celebration of the writer and artist John Berger and his passionate love of drawing. It takes two forms – an exhibition and a new book. The exhibition features works on paper from different periods of Berger’s long and productive life and drawings by thirty invited contemporary artists who either knew and collaborated with him or were influenced both by his critical writings and novels over the years.
The book, published by OBJECTIF, features new texts by and about John Berger plus a catalogue section of images, information and stories from the invited artists in the main exhibition.
The exhibition, arranged and selected by Martin Battye and John Christie, brings together rarely seen drawings and archive material by John Berger from private collections. Drawings by his contemporaries, Frank Auerbach, Peter de Francia, Leon Kossoff, Robert Medley, and Edward Middleditch, are also shown.
Invited artists from the UK and Europe taking part include: Yvonne Barlow, Martin Battye, Basil Beattie, Yves Berger, Liane Birnberg, Michael Broughton, John Christie, Katarzyna Coleman, Graham Crowley, Laurence Edwards, Kate Giles, Maggi Hambling, Jane Harris, Bridget Heriz, Eileen Hogan, Annabel Gault, Derrick Greaves, John Kiki, Rostislav Kunovsky, Jules Linglin, Randa Maddah, Derek Morris, Hughie O’Donoghue, Emrys Parry, Doff Ransome, Sula Rubens, Colin Self, Bruer Tidman, Emyr Williams and Mary Webb.
A new book coincides with the exhibition. It contains two previously unpublished sequences of correspondence on art and communications between John Berger and his daughter Katya Berger Andreadakis along with tributes and stories from: Anne Michaels, Yves Berger, Eulàlia Bosch, Geoff Dyer, Gareth Evans, Paul Gordon and Tom Overton. The book also features a compilation of writings on the art and practice of drawing collected together by John Christie, from across John Berger’s art criticism, fiction, essays and letters. The latter part of the book is dedicated to the invited artists and their drawings in the exhibition. The 44-page full-colour paperback book is on sale in the gallery or direct from the publisher’s website. http://www.objectifpress.co.uk/seeing-through-drawing
Elm Hill, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 1HN. Monday – Saturday 10am – 5pm.
Affecting Moments, Laurence Sterne Trust, Shandy Hall, Coxwold
Until 29th September 2017
With the publication of A Sentimental Journey in 1768, Laurence Sterne played an important part in moulding public taste for the emotional response, and in the last quarter of the eighteenth century the growing popularity of novels coincided with the increased availability of prints depicting moving scenes from their pages. ‘Affecting Moments’ exhibits a collection of such scenes, often of high emotional intensity, from literature in the Age of Romantic Sensibility
The exhibition shows some of the prints of English literature engraved in the last quarter of the eighteenth century which were singly issued rather than being in books. Most of these are in the technique of stipple, which suddenly became popular with the increased demand for decorative prints in the 1770s. Such prints were usually bought as ‘furniture’, that is, to be framed – often in elegant gilt circles or ovals – and displayed on the wall rather than being kept in albums or portfolios. It was the great expansion of the English print market at this time, coinciding with an increase in the public appetite for literature, which encouraged artists to paint or draw scenes from poems, plays and novels.
On the whole artists looked for moving incidents to depict – hence the ‘Affecting Moments’ title of the exhibition. A high proportion of the prints show powerful female emotion treated in a sentimental way. But not all artists succumbed to the fashion for sentimentality, as the selection of prints after Henry Fuseli makes clear.
All prints from the collection of David Alexander. Catalogue available.
Laurence Sterne Trust, Shandy Hall, Coxwold, York, North Yorkshire YO61 4AD. https://www.laurencesternetrust.org.uk
Bookmarks XV 2017 – 2018
Bookmarks XV is the fifteenth and final outing of the Bookmarks series from UWE Bristol, UK. Part I of the free artwork distribution series launched in 2004 and has since visited 159 galleries, bookstores, workshops, centres, schools, museums and libraries in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and USA.
The series grew out of an aim to encourage appreciation and awareness of artists working in the book format. Participating artists each produced an edition of 100 signed and numbered bookmarks which were divided into 100 sets; one full set being sent to each of the contributing artists and the rest divided and sent out in distribution boxes to host venues around the world, for visitors to discover.
Since 2004, 598 artists have contributed 59,800 bookmarks to the project. Each bookmark is stamped with the current project’s website address, which directs the taker of the bookmark to the gallery section of the website. Visitors can view works by the artists and contact contributors via their website and email links on the site. As interest in artists’ books practice has grown internationally over the years, the bookmarks projects have now reached a natural conclusion.
Bookmarks XV will visit ten venues from September 2017 – February 2018 in Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK and USA. The final set has 54 artists and groups who have sent their bookmarks from Australia, Canada, Germany, Hawaii, Italy, Sweden the UK and USA. For more information please visit: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk
Artists’ Book Fairs and Events
ASP FAIR GLASGOW
Saturday 2nd September 2017 at CCA Glasgow
ASP Glasgow follows in the footsteps of Artist Self Publisher’s Fair London, held at the ICA annually since 2015.
CAB – Cardiff Artists’ Books
Saturday 9th September 2017 at The Printhaus, Cardiff.
CAB is a one-day event at The Printhaus bringing together artists, writers and publishers from Cardiff and beyond to meet, sell to the public and engage with others. Free event, all welcome. 10am – 5pm. The Printhaus, 70A Llandaff Rd, Cardiff, CF11 9NL. https://www.theprinthaus.org
F O M O – FALMOUTH ART PUBLISHING FAIR , 29th September – 1st October 2017 at Falmouth Art Gallery.
FOMO Falmouth Art Publishing Fair is a collaborative project organised by staff from the Falmouth School of Art in collaboration with Falmouth Art Gallery and Library.
Exhibitors include: Banner Repeater; Maddy and Paul Hearn; Atlantic Press; Alembic Books; Angie Butler, Rhiannon Daniels & Jennifer Batt of #MakingBooksInBristol, and many more local and national artists and publishers. Free event. https://falmouthartpublishingfair.wordpress.com
Bristol Comic & Zine Fair
The Station, Bristol, Saturday 7th October 2017.
The Bristol Comic and Zine Fair celebrates the world of DIY and independent publishing. The fair brings together artists, writers, and publishers from across Bristol and further afield for a one-day market. 2017 will be our 7th year.
BCZF was established in 2011 to give artists interested in self-publishing a chance to sell their work and to invite new audiences to see what the UK’s vibrant DIY arts scene is up to. BCZF 2017 returns to The Station, Broadmead, a city-centre space run by The Creative Youth Network to provide a place for young people to meet, develop their talent, and get advice and support. Free entry. The Station, Silver St, Bristol BS1 2AG. https://bczf.co.uk
ALL INKED UP
Kent’s International Artist’s Book and Print Event. Friday 13th – Sunday 15th October 2017
Book artists and universities from all around will be showcasing and sell their books, zines and prints. The event is spread over the weekend at two venues.
Friday 13th Oct 2017 at UCA, University of the Creative Arts Canterbury
10.30am – 6pm. Herbert Read Gallery University of the Creative Arts, New Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent. This is part of Canterbury Arts Festival.
As well as the fair of 30 artists and universities there will be an open symposium programme of celebrated artists talking about their work and debating the makeup of what a book can be. Plus Workshop inductions into print processes and binding methods. www.uca.ac.uk/life-at-uca/locations/canterbury/
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th October 2017 at Brewery Tap Gallery Folkestone. 53 Tontine St, Folkestone CT20 1JR. The event is moving to seaside to be part of the Folkestone Triennial fringe. http://folkestonefringe.com
Saturday 11am – 7pm, with a performance at 7.30 by Bones and the Aft.
Sunday 11am – 4pm. All events are free and work for sale from just a few pounds.
For further information contact Rob McDonald, Senior Lecturer at UCA Canterbury: http://www.uca.ac.uk/staff-profiles/rob-mcdonald/
New Artists’ Books
New books from Angela Thames
CHAWTON HOUSE CHEAP REPOSITORY CHAPBOOKS
After spending a year as Artist in Residence at Chawton House Library, I produced my own set of Chapbooks inspired by the tradition in the 17th & 18th century of small cheap books written to educate the masses. The books were sold by travelling traders called chapmen by foot from village to village. I particularly liked the idea that the books would be illustrated with woodcuts which may not necessarily have anything to do with the text, but just used old woodcuts the printer’s had in their possession. Whilst at Chawton House Library I discovered their collection of ‘IT’ books, adventure books written as if the object were speaking. I found the Adventures of a Pin Cushion, The Adventures of a 7-shilling piece, The Adventures of a Rupee and The Adventures of a Black Coat. Chawton House Library has a huge collection of 1st edition and rare books mainly written by women writers of the long 18th Century. The house used to belong to Edward Knight, brother of Jane Austen, who was adopted by the Knight family as an heir to their estate. Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra and mother lived in a small cottage down the lane, now known as The Jane Austen Museum.
I have produced 6 different books with 4-8 pages each, hand stitched, all illustrated with various prints, watercolours and photographs and extracts from the stories and poems I found in these humorous ‘IT’ adventure books. The stories in each book include: Whimsical Poems, The Physic of the Gingerbread Nuts, The Tragic-comic scene of Mr. Feastlove, Mr. Fidget’s Incredible and True Coach Trip to London, The toothless Chimney Sweep, A liquid diet, The Boil on the Bum, The Death of Goodwin, The Fantastical and Fatal Life of Ellena. The full set is available as an open edition set, each book is 15 x 10 cm. Price £10 + P&P (£2.00). Please see my website www.angelathames.co.uk
Artist’s Book Yearbook 2018-2019
Published by Impact Press at The Centre for Fine Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, September 2017.
Essays: With her regular page for bookartbookshop, Tanya Peixoto celebrates Kelly Wellman; Endangered Species of Book by John Bently, ponders the disappearance of paper-based books from our daily routines; Liminal Moments At The Edges: Reading Montage Narratives in Artists’ Books by Victoria Cooper explores some examples of the montage within bookworks by Australian artists held within the State Library of Queensland, Brisbane; Peter Seddon Reviews the exhibition Press & Release 2016: Technology and the Evolution of The Artist’s Book at Phoenix Brighton, UK; Josh Hockensmith of the Joseph C. Sloane Art Library at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA, explains The Artists’ Books Critical Index Project, gathering citations of where specific artists’ books are mentioned or pictured in literature about artists’ books; Egidija Čiricaitė considers In the Space of Time – the metaphor of book space as “time” in artists’ books from the Prescriptions collection held at the University of Kent Special Collections and Archives, UK; in unfoldingthinking – Making Book Art with Scientists, Les Bicknell reflects on his recent artist’s residency at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Nanoscience and Technology at Cambridge University, UK, and the bookworks produced to date; from Poland, in What if my artist’s book is not really an object…, Anna Juchnowicz discusses her long-term project using printmaking, artists’ books and installation to express ideas from the poetry of Sappho today; in BEEZER: Library Interventions, Nick Norton reflects on the artists, designers, writers and performers participating in the interventions programme at Leeds College of Art, UK. Since 2013 Library Interventions has been making the creative potential of the library visible to a wide audience; in Un-Flattened: Book Arts and the Artist’s Map, Rosie Sherwood, UK, asks from the perspective of a book artist – Can a map be a reflection of a place, an experience, an emotional response?
Cover design: Tom Sowden. Artists’ pages by: Stephan Erasmus, Gloria Glitzer, Kellie Hindmarch, Sarah Jacobs, Sophie Loss, Hazel Roberts, Tricia Treacy, and Claire Yspol.
The listings sections detail some of the vast amount of artists’ books activity, education and discussion taking place around the world and include: Artist’s Book Publishers & Presses; Bookshops for artists’ books; Artist’s Book Dealers; Galleries & Centres; Collections, Libraries & Archives; Artist’s Book Fairs and Events; Book Arts Courses and Workshops; resources for Design, Print & Bind; Print and Papermaking Studios; Journals and Magazines; New Reference Publications; Organisations, People, Projects and Societies.
In the Artists’ Books Listings section, you can discover 400+ examples of new artists’ books from the information sent in by artists in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
240pp, 21 x 29.7 cm, black and white offset litho, colour cover. ISBN 978-1-906501-12-9. Please order your copy online at: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/publications/artists-book-yearbook.html
Making Books by the London Centre for Book Arts
Simon Goode & Ira Yonemura
News from Simon Goode & Ira Yonemura of LCBA: We’re thrilled and a little proud to announce that a book that we’ve been working on for the past year is now out in the world!
Making Books by the London Centre for Book Arts is a step-by-step guide to creating books by hand at home based on our popular workshops. Published by Pavilion Books, we were lucky enough to work with photographer Yuki Sugiura, illustrator Jay Cover, and designer Makoto Yamada. You can pick up a copy of the book at our shop or your local bookshop.
London Centre for Book Arts, Unit 18, Ground Floor, Britannia Works
Dace Road, Fish Island, London, E3 2N.
Does What It Says On The Tin: A Gin in a Tin Review Zine
Siobhan Britton
Pre-mixed drinks in a tin are surely one of the best inventions of modern times and have saved many a tedious journey or picnic for many of us. Stick your twee, gin in a teacup bullshit, gin in a tin is not messing about.
As they’ve grown in popularity, more and more options are available. I feel like I’ve become a bit of an aficionado when it comes to pre-mixed gin and tonic (or gin in a tin) as I like to call it, so I decided to make this zine. It looks at a range of premixed drinks, reviewing them based on their taste, appearance and value for money.
This is a 12-page zine that has been risograph printed in Brighton by the excellent Dopple Press, using hunter green ink (so in keeping with the international colour of gin, green), so there will be slight variations in the print from zine to zine. £3.50 including UK P&P.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/523576092/does-what-it-says-on-the-tin-a-gin-in-a
Pandæmonium by Semple Press
Text: John Milton (excerpt from Paradise Lost). “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n” says Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton. There’s a reason this book is chained!
While the Œ ligature book started with an outbreak of jellyfish, the Æ ligature book started with a black serpent of uncertain origin, whose intentions seemed malevolent… I suspected that he may have had something to do with the Garden of Eden, and after some research discovered that he was indeed the original master of Alternative Facts himself, from Paradise Lost by John Milton, i.e. Satan.
The passage quoted in this book comes from Book X of Paradise Lost, and is the moment when Satan returns to Pandæmonium to boast of his success in persuading Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. But all he hears in response is hissing, “the sound of public scorn”. And soon all he can do is hiss too, as he is turned back into a serpent “punished in the shape he sinned”. Milton’s description of this transformation is extremely graphic and directors of Hollywood werewolf movies could definitely take notes.
Pandæmonium is letterpress printed using wood Æ ligatures and metal centaur type, on 180gsm Fedrigoni Materica (acid free). The boards are 1.5mm millboard, covered in Hahnemuhle bugra butten. Edition of 50, Devon, 2017. £20. Available at: http://www.semplepress.co.uk/#/pandaemonium/
Sarah Bodman
Centre for Fine Print Research, UWE, Bristol.