susceptible to images: a milwaukee art review

Another very thoughtful review of the exhibit.

susceptible to images: a milwaukee art review

The First Panel Discussion

The first panel discussion in conjuction with the exhibit was held last Wednesday evening. On a frigid Milwaukee winter evening - 100 brave souls came to the college and I don't believe they were disappointed. Independent scholar and curator, Betty Bright; artists Lynne Avedenka and Elsi Vasdel Ellis; and Max Yela, Special Collections Librarian at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee made up the first panel.

Betty gave an overview of the field of book-arts, with an emphasis on sacred texts. She began with a passage from Rumi, which I need to ask her to send to me. It sums up the exhibit perfectly! Lynne and Elsi spoke about their own work, and Max added information about his philophshy regarding book arts and the importance of collecting them.

A wicked flu has made my blogging less than it should be. But I'm much better no and back to giving at least two tours in the gallery most days. The exhibit has struck a chord - and people are in the gallery constantly.

The image is of the "book/installation" by Fahimeh Vahdat and Brian Carlson. The photograph is by Chris Kessler, copyright 2007.

Success, Indeed.

Images
1. A detrail of Mary Heebner's Installation Full Lotus: Bodhisattvas of Ayuthaya and the book Full Lotus.

2. Tony Grondin's Feather Books.

3. Book artist (and exhibitor) Pamela Zwehl-Burke, choreographer Cate Diecher, book artist and curator Leslie Fedorchuk, photographer Lindsay Lochman.

4. Brainard Carey's Book of Job (under a vitrine for the opening) and the computer that allows visitors to access the on-line catalogue. This juxtaposition makes me laugh everytime I see it!

5. Elsi Vassdal Ellis' Aztec Creation books in case. Pictograph images by the curator on the back wall.


Opening night for the exhibit was incredible. I wish that you all might have been there - but hundreds came in your stead. Many, many accolades for the work of the artists - and for the scope of the exhibit in general.

I was able to teach in the gallery (first day of my book-arts class). What a brilliant laboratory to have this semester. During the opening there were several classes of high school students who had come to the gallery with "assignments" given to them by their instructors, who had visited the exhibit earlier in the week.

We had a abbreviated version of the catalogue up in the gallery - and will have that up and running soon. With the semester underway, it will be a "work in progress" with sections going up on a regular basis. The is particularly true of the artist's pages. Biographies and full sets of images will go up as I can get them to the webmaster.

Please send your comments and questions. That is what the blog is for.

There has always been discussion within the book arts community about how to best display artist's books. Even as recently as the past week there has been a thread on the book arts listserv about all of the different challenges involved. Under vitrines or exposed? Touch with gloves or bare, clean hands?

Ultimately it has to be the decision of the artist, or the lender of the book. That's what I have followed as I'm thinking about the installation of works in this exhibit. Most everything is protected - and I will make myself available to open the cases and walk anyone through a book that they would want to see. I'll also change the pages weekly.

The image on the left is of Ben, Karin and Jamie (more about them later) installing Robbin Ami Silverberg's Solomon's Wisdom. Robbin was kind enough to give me this option for installing the work - which really showcases the "book-ness" - utilizing the corner of the gallery as the spine of a double-page spread. Getting it up took several pairs of hands. It was secured through the openings in the pages with long, thin black nails - which you really cannot see. The gorgeous clamshell case that houses the book is in a plexi- case on the wall next to the book. Very striking.

The other image is a installation shot - shows you the total havoc that is occuring now. In the foreground is Cindy Marsh's "Tent Show for Birds and Other Small Creatures," still sitting atop its carboard support. Just beyond it on the table you can see the little zip-lock bag of straw she sent along for the piece to sit on. Great. Saves me a trip to the garden center....

I have a vision of how this will look - just not sure anyone else can see it yet!

I know that no one else working on this project - except the curator (yours truly) has ever installed a book exhibit of this size. The last one that I did was Women's Autobiographical Artist's Books a collaboration with my dear friend Pamela Zwehl-Burke in 1987 at the University of Wisconsin -Miwaukee. That exhibit also had a huge number of pieces to install - issues to figure out about how to best showcase the books and move folks through the gallery in a way that made sense.

It is a daunting task - and I could feel everyone's anxiety today (including mine) - about how we were going to accomplish this ALL by the 16th. I am in the gallery with the mighty, mighty crew - but also dealing with the three panels of speakers that will be happening in February, press, labels, text panels, tech support, and the catalogue. IN NO WAY am I doing this all alone - the gift of this place - MIAD - is the help and support of everyone even remotely connected to the project. More about them later.

Ready (?) Set, GO!

Today all of the packages arrived. Well, actually they have been trickling in for a couple of weeks - but many of the artists and especially the lenders - waited for today to have their work arrive. We set up long tables in the gallery and started opening everything and filing out condition reports. Only someone who has installed a book exhibit before has any idea of how much work goes into this - and with 80 + pieces in this exhibit we've a lot of work ahead of us. I know there will be lots of building involved - plus just the general readying of the gallery.

I am hoping that this blog can become a record of the process of the exhibit - one that others will be willing to comment on - posting their own experiences or later perhaps their feedback on the exhibit itself.