Artists’ Books News
November – December 2018
Exhibitions
Sarah Bodman – Read To Me, Winchester School of Art Library, 15th November – 20th December 2018.
Read To Me is an artist’s book, produced after an experiment in collaboration with a psychometric reader, to transmit the emotional content of selected narratives through a series of physical objects. Ten objects were selected to read chapters of novels, or short stories to. They were then posted to the reader who relayed their messages back to the artist.
The idea for this experiment was initially inspired during a residency at Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) in Rochester NY, USA in 2002. My fascination with psychic reading was piqued during the month spent at VSW. It was there that I read about the history of the Fox Sisters, who launched their careers as spirit mediums on 14th November 1849, at the Corinthian Hall in Rochester. As I sat at the table reading in the library and archive at VSW, I imagined that the Fox Sisters would have been at a similar table in a similar large mansion house over 150 years ago, thrilling their audiences with their tales and spirit encounters.
Read To Me is now touring with an exhibition of the artist’s book and a selection of the original objects read from/to. Venues to date include Visual Studies Workshop, NY; Winchester School of Art Library, UK; John M. Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, USA. Produced at the London Centre for Book Arts, 2018, four-colour risograph print with Esther McManus. Edition of 100, July 2018, 20 pages, 105 x 148 mm. £10 including p&p.
Winchester School of Art Library, Park Avenue, Winchester SO23 8DL.
Read more about the project at: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/readtome/
David Ferry: The Ruin of Picturesque Britain, Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum & Galleries, until 9th November 2018.
Stephen Clarke is the author of the introductory text for an exhibition of David Ferry’s prints and artists’ books:
The Heritage Industry in Britain emerged in the 1980s. Although the term was new, the practice had a lengthier existence that stretched back to the late eighteenth century with the writings of the Reverend William Gilpin.
Gilpin appealed to the middle-class leisured traveller to take pleasure from the picturesque; this appeal became the sales pitch of the travel agent to the modern tourist. Outdated picture guidebooks that portray an idealised landscape are the raw material for David Ferry’s artworks.
The pictorial books that Ferry uses are found in high-street charity shops. Slightly battered and discarded by their former owners, they show a Britain before the decline of recent decades. The books have become antique; they stand as ruins of a lost past. The BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow was born at the end of the 1970s.
The show’s format is for a team of experts to visit historic sites across the country to evaluate the treasures brought to them by members of the public. As with the bric-a-brac of the charity shop, vulgar objects rub shoulders with those of genuine value. Ferry’s own road-trip follows a similar route as he inserts the common imagery of the hobbyist into the grand locations of British history, and so the idyllic is ruined by the unsightly.
David Ferry’s altered books share their lineage with the series of guidebooks sponsored by the oil company Shell. These publications, published from 1934, were a county-to-county introduction to the delights of the nation. Under the editorial control of the poet John Betjeman, and later the artist John Piper, these guides have become valued surveys. Unlike Gilpin’s leisured travellers, the consumers of the Shell guides were the twentieth-century motorists whose nostalgic viewpoint fuelled the conservative culture of an unspoiled Britain. It is a vision that David Ferry playfully defiles in his own atlas of the country.
Stephen Clarke is Lecturer in Critical and Contextual Studies: Art & Design, at the University of Chester.
David Ferry interview with Stephen Clarke in relation to the exhibition The Celtic Image (21 June – 20 July, 2018) shown at the Burren College of Art, County Clare, Ireland, can be read on the Sidney Nolan Trust website:
http://www.sidneynolantrust.org/walking-with-ghosts
Stephen Clarke will curate an exhibition of David Ferry’s prints and artist books, titled The Invader’s Guide to the Museum, to be shown at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, from March – June 2019.
School of Art Gallery & Museum, Aberystwyth University, Buarth Mawr, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 1NG. https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/art/gallery-museum/about-us/
A selection of artists’ books from the archive at the Centre for Fine Print Research is on display at Hauser & Wirth Somerset until 1st January 2019
They form part of a Book Lab display to accompany the Takesada Matsutani – drop in time exhibition, on show until 1st January 2019.
Artists’ books featured in this exhibition include works by: Sally Alatalo, Mette Sofie D. Ambeck, Guy Begbie, Guy Bigland, Amir Brito Cador, Collective Investigations, George Cullen, Fiona Dempster, Antonio Freiles, Hazel Grainger, Gloria Glitzer (Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke), Charlotte Hall, Katie Herzog, Andrew Huot,
Julie Johnstone, Hilary Judd, The Laurence Sterne Trust, Avril Makula, Helen Malone, Leonard McDermid, Tim Mosely, Lina Nordenström, Otto, Carinna Parraman, Jeff Rathermel, Tim Staples, Nathan Walker, Sylvia Waltering and Corinne Welch.
Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Ln, Bruton BA10 0NL.
https://www.hauserwirth.com/locations/10068-hauser-wirth-somerset
The Bristol Art Library 20th Anniversary Exhibition Tour
The Bristol Art Library is a fully functioning public library housed in a wooden cabinet the size of a small suitcase. Annabel Other, the artist, created the library in 1998 and is the Head Librarian. The library’s volumes cover a wide range of subjects, from palaeontology to astronomy, with 250 books (all 5 in x 4 in) made by artists and practitioners from all areas of the arts and sciences.
Membership of Bristol Art Library is free, and once you have joined and received your manilla reader’s ticket you may visit the library and peruse its volumes anywhere in the world. The library now has 11,500 members, a gift shop and a friends’ organisation FOTBAL (Friends of The Bristol Art Library).
Being portable, the library can travel to almost any location in the world, and this year alone it has visited over 40 places. Although the library often appears at museums, galleries and arts centres, it is equally at home in venues such as private houses, hotel lobbies and the waiting area of a hairdressers.
The Head Librarian is delighted to announce that The Bristol Art Library will be open for readers in the UK to join and peruse the volumes at:
Tate St Ives, on Friday 2nd November 2018, 10am-3pm (lunch 1-2pm). https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives
Hypatia Trust, Penzance on Saturday 3rd November 2018,
2pm-5pm. http://hypatia-trust.org.uk/
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Saturday 1st December 2018 (see museum website for times):
https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/
TRANSLATION, 8th November – 7th December 2018, Milton Gallery, London.
Artists’ books, sculptures, prints and works on paper. TRANSLATION is a group exhibition of works by artists who have either moved away from their countries to live and work in a different culture and language, or who translate between different types of language: scientific, musical, linguistic and visual. TRANSLATION offers a dialogue between languages, in a multifaceted exhibition of artists’ books, sculptures, prints and works on paper.
Albert DuPont, Egidija Čiricaitė, Linda Toigo, Sumi Perera, Anne Rook, Pat Kaufman, Batool Showghi, Gwen Fereday, Laurence Toussaint, Greg Rook, Veronique de Guitarre, Louisa Burnett-Hall, Andrew Charalambous, Ariane de Briey, Emi Avora, Chisato Tamabayashi
Milton Gallery, St Paul’s School, Lonsdale Road, London SW13 9JT. Monday to Friday 9am-4pm.
LIVERPOOL BOOK ART ‘FRANKENSTEIN 2018’ EXHIBITION
Kirkby Gallery, Knowsley, until 26th January 2019.
Frankenstein 2018 is Liverpool Book Art’s third major exhibition of Book Art. The theme of the exhibition marks 200 years since the first edition of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus’ was published.
Book artists from around the world have responded with a hugely creative range of ideas. Some have been stimulated by the themes in the book; others have been inspired by the way the story is told; others have made links between Frankenstein and other classic stories such as Dracula and The Golem.
Liverpool Book Art’s Frankenstein 2018 exhibition ended its run in Liverpool’s Central Library on 9th August. The exhibition moved to Knowsley’s Kirkby Gallery from 17th September until 26th January 2019. Additional works were selected to join the exhibition in the current venue. Several of these have been chosen to utilise the very different exhibition space at the Kirkby Gallery, including wall-mounted works and installations.
There are works by over 40 individual artists and 2 collectives in the Kirkby Gallery show, with an enormous variety of approaches, materials and techniques. Some of the works have been made in small editions; some are unique works. Many of them are available to buy. There are also reading / handling copies of several of the works, enhancing the exhibition experience for visitors.
In addition, artist Matthew Frame has created a new mural, working on-site every day for the first week of the exhibition. Visitors will be able to enjoy the completed work throughout the exhibition. The Private View was extremely well attended, and made into a special delight by Chloe Spicer and her edible Frankenstein books!
The exhibition’s run at Liverpool Central Library has been a great success, with enthusiastic feedback from visitors both verbally and recorded in a comments book. Sales have been significant, including multiple copies of several works. The exhibition has been enhanced by talks given by 10 of the participating artists during the 5th Liverpool Artists Book Fair, and curator talks by Simon Ryder, Director of Liverpool Book Art, throughout June and July. New display cabinets at the Library meant an added bonus for the last 3 weeks of the show was the exhibition of Berni Wrightson’s Frankenstein portfolios from the late 1970s as well as various illustrated editions of the book.The exhibition moves to Bower Ashton Library at UWE Bristol, UK in February 2019.
Kirkby Gallery is at The Kirkby Centre, Norwich Way, Kirkby, Knowsley L32 8XY.
Opening times are Mon to Fri 09.00-17.00, Sat 10.00-13.00.
Entry is FREE to the public.
For more information, see LiverpoolBookArt on Facebook and www.liverpoolbookart.com
Exhibition – Designer Bookbinders Annual UK Bookbinding Competition 2018
St Bride Foundation, London, 15th – 27th November 2018
The aim of the Annual UK Bookbinding Competition is to encourage binders to make originally designed and well-bound books, and to provide the opportunity to exhibit their work; it is open to all residents of the UK at the time of completion of the binding, with the exception of Fellows of the Society. The competition is sponsored by Designer Bookbinders and The Folio Society. As well as the set
book category, there is an open choice which can include anything bookish.
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This year’s set book is “The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury – sixteen startling tales that built on his breakout collection The Martian Chronicles and paved the way for his dystopian masterpiece Fahrenheit 451. At first glance, this is science fiction rooted firmly in 1950s America – the paranoia of McCarthyism, apocalyptic fears of the Cold War, concern about colonial ambitions, racial segregation and the dangers of television. But as Bradbury’s stories rise before us, we find that the questions he asks, and the anxieties he explores, are universal. In her insightful introduction, Margaret Atwood explores Bradbury’s unique talent and how encountering his work in her formative years shaped her own writing.
Following the prize-giving, the bindings will be exhibited from 15th November – 27th November 2018 at the Layton Room, St Bride Foundation, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ.
Monday – Friday 12 – 6pm
Tuesday 27 November 12 – 4pm
Saturday 24 November 12 – 4pm
There is a Designer Bookbinders lecture day on Saturday 17th November in the Layton Room during the exhibition to which all are welcome.
http://www.designerbookbinders.org.uk
Events and artists’ book fairs
ARTISTS WHO MAKE BOOKS SYMPOSIUM, Kilmore Quay, Wexford, Ireland, Friday 30th November – Sunday 2nd December 2018.
Organised by Andi McGarry. All activities in Stella Maris Centre, Kilmore Quay, in 2 venues – Upstairs Gallery or Downstairs Auditorium. Stella Maris Centre, Kilmore Quay, Wexford, Ireland.
For the full programme, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/artistswhomakebooks/
Artists’ Books Now: Place, The British Library, London, 5th November 2018, 6.30-8.30pm.
A look at books made by artists, designed to stimulate thought and inspire. This event’s in-the-round format is designed to rise to the open spirit of artists’ books by offering an accessible way of exploring them. This evening’s artists will ‘think aloud’ about the meanings and pleasures of artists’ books focusing on the theme of place.
Participants include Chris Taylor, the artist and academic, the book artist and poet Nancy Campbell, photography and video artist Véronique Chance, and the artist Leonie Lachlan. They are joined in conversation by the essayist, art writer, curator and librarian Clive Phillpot.
Knowledge Centre, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK. £5-8. https://www.bl.uk/events/artists-books-now-place
Upcoming events with readings / appearances by Nancy Campbell as her new book The Library of Ice: Readings from a Cold Climate, launches include:
5th November, Artists’ Books Now, British Library, London,
9th November, Art and the Arctic, OVADA, Oxford
17th November, Kendal Mountain Festival, Kendal
21st November, Golden Hare Books, Edinburgh, Scotland
22nd November (tbc), Kinross Curling Club, The Green Hotel, Kinross, Scotland
26th November, Newcastle Literary Festival, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Library of Ice, readings from a cold climate, with Nancy Campbell at Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham, Wednesday, 28th November 2018, 7pm – 8:30pm.
http://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/events/library-of-ice-readings-from-a-cold-climate-with-nancy-campbell/
For more information on these events, visit: http://nancycampbell.co.uk/calendar/
This year’s Small Publishers Fair will take place at London’s Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th November, 11am to 7pm. Entry is free.
A record sixty-eight publishers will be there, two thirds of them traveling to London from across the UK and further afield to take part. Full details here:
http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk/participants/
The list includes over ten publishers who are new to the Fair, among them Brae Editions (Orkney), Clod Magazine (Luton), Double Dagger Press (Cheltenham), The Modernist (Manchester) and Timglaset Editions (Malmo). There’s also a welcome return for Hoxton Mini Press (London), New Arcadian Press (Leeds) and Propolis Books (Norwich).
This year’s exhibition is Laurie Clark – books and printed matter. Alongside Thomas A Clark, Laurie runs Moschatel Press and Cairn Gallery. As an artist she has collaborated with many different small press publishers including, for many years, Ian Hamilton Finlay and his Wild Hawthorn Press. http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk/exhibition/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallpublishers/
http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk
Brad Freeman – Artist’s Book Launch, Tuesday 13th November 2018, 5.30pm
Newton Park Campus, Bath Spa University, Bath.
The Making Books Research Centre at Bath Spa University is delighted to launch a new artist’s book produced by visiting artist Brad Freeman who has been hosted as artist in residence in Bath School of Art and Design.
This limited-edition book Korea— Japan—1963 is based on a series of photographs taken by Brad’s father, Tom, a dentist in the US Army, while stationed in Korea and Japan in 1963.
The sequence of photographs starts in South Korea where Tom was stationed near a village close to the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. The photographs continue as he flies away in a helicopter with the village disappearing into the snowy and mountainous landscape. Later while on a Military Air Command airplane he photographed snow-capped Mt. Fuji near the coast of Japan. The sequence ends during a trip to Hiroshima. The paper of the book is Kozo (tradename Asuka), a traditional Japanese paper made from the inner bark of the mulberry bush.
Brad Freeman is an artist and offset printer who has been making artist’s books since 1980. He founded The Journal of Artists’ Books (JAB) in 1994 in an attempt to raise the level of critical inquiry in the field and provide a platform for both theoretical and creative expression.
Booking required, please visit https://www.bathspalive.com to book. Room CM.134, Commons Building, Newton Park Campus, Bath Spa University, Bath BA2 9BN.
Book Works Annual Raffle ticket (Special Edition) 2018 – No Image Available by Fiona Banner.
After a successful launch last year, Book Works is excited to announce our second annual raffle, No Image Available, named after the raffle ticket artwork specially designed by Fiona Banner. Each ticket edition is signed and numbered by the artist in a limited edition of 350, and will act as a raffle ticket for the fundraiser event.
The Book Works Raffle is a continuation of our efforts to raise money for our artists’ new work, events, and workshops. In addition to the limited edition ticket print, each ticket offers the chance to win one or more of six kindly donated artworks and is an invitation to our No Image Available Winter Party at Toynbee Studios on Tuesday 20th November.
Prizes are listed at: https://www.bookworks.org.uk/node/1946
There is no limit on the number of tickets you can buy, and each ticket will give you and one guest admission to our No Image Available Winter Party, at Toynbee Studios on Tuesday 20th November. Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.bookworks.org.uk/node/1946
Library & Archive Show and Tell – Liver and Lights A Chronicle of Strange Times, Tate Britain, London, 7th December 2018
John Bently will talk about the Liver and Lights series at Tate Britain in the Archive Rooms on Friday December 7th, 12.00–14.00.
Evolving dramatically over the course of its 56 editions in 34 years (so far), from punk poetry fanzine into DIY manifesto; from a celebration of discarded things into a celebration of discarded communities, from heartfelt memorial to ranting pamphlet, the series functions as a repository of low budget reprographics and an uncompromising chronicle of real lives lived in strange times.
Liver and Lights also incorporates a wide range of one-off works of art and related projects, most notably the band bonesandtheaft, who interpret and illuminate the books through music and live performance, augmented by handmade recordings, props, stage sets and costumes. This Show and Tell will explore highlights from the series alongside other related publications from Tate Library selected by John Bently, with Jane Bramwell, and Anna Golodnitsky.
In the evening after the talk, bonesandtheaft will be launching Liver & Lights No. 56 (Part Three) with a live performance, also at Tate Britain and also free, as part of a Late at the Tate evening where the gallery gets turned into a mini festival. You don’t need a ticket for this just come on down. They will be performing in The Library Reading Room on the ground floor c.7-8pm.
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG.
Free limited tickets for the talk can be reserved here:
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/talk/library-archive-show-and-tell-programme/liver-and-lights