Tag Archives: Books

New Book Histories Publishers, Printers and Presses

NEWBookHistoriesFebruary 19 – extended to June 26, 2016

This exhibition is curated by the students in English 500 (Textual Studies and Methods of Research), under the supervision of instructor Dr. Janelle Jenstad.

Legacy Maltwood (at the Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

Book histories often focus on authors and readers. Yet publishers and printers play key roles in both the art and business of book production. This includes the material form and aesthetics of the book, the acquisition of rights, the shaping of the text, editorial history, and canon formation. Showcasing materials from the University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives, this exhibition traces the role of publishers and printers in literary history from early production in scriptoria to 21st-century BC small presses. Come learn how early publishers remade the codex in the sixteenth century, who owned and regulated the right to print, how 18th-century printers made Shakespeare, what drove Dickens to become his own publisher, how Lady Chatterley’s Lover escaped the censors, why serial publication mattered, and how literary archives shed light on relationships between publishers and authors.

Image Metal type, Special Collections and University Archives, UVic Libraries, photograph by John Frederick.

Art of the Book 2013

Karen Kunc, Fractured Terrain
Karen Kunc, Fractured Terrain

November 22, 2013 – March 24, 2014

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

Art of the Book 2013 both embodies and defies the traditional definition of what a book can be. The content ranges from calligraphy to blackout poetry, while the books take on imaginative forms such as luggage-style tags or DNA’s double helix. Drawing from ancient techniques, the artists have represented a full history of book making, including the modern e-book. Organized by the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, this 30th anniversary juried exhibit features award winning work from some of the best makers in Canada and the United States.

A companion exhibit of the 31st annual Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada is featured in the adjacent McPherson Library Special Collections Reading Room from October 28 – November 29.

Events:

On November 25, 2013 an opening reception was held to great success. Two local CBBAG members gave a guided tour of the exhibition and Caroline Riedel spoke about the exhibition.

Similar Exhibitions:

Shakespeare’s “Big Books”

Detail of a portrait of William Shakespeare

Detail of a portrait of William Shakespeare

September 21 – October 23, 2013

Legacy Small Gallery

Curated by Dr. Janelle Jensted and Dr. Erin E. Kelly

Click here to read more about the University of Victoria’s celebration of the Bard.

The Shakespeare First Folio (First Collected edition of his plays) is one of the Western world’s best-known and most iconic books. Discover why these folios have held people’s fascination through the centuries and enjoy and opportunity to see all four 17th century folios together for the first time in BC.

This exhibition was part of the Shakespeare Onstage-Offstage community celebration of the Bard. View the Shakespeare Onstage—Offstage brochure here and learn more about the events here.

Art of the Book 2008

Berg_Cathy_web

The Lord God Made Them All, Cathy Berg, 2007

October 16, 2010 – January 5, 2011

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

Curated by Susan Corrigan and Shelagh Smith

This traveling exhibit, presented by the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, features 78 works by 70 artists from Canada, the United States and Japan. The Art of Book ’08 celebrates the 25th anniversary of the CBBAG and marks their fifth juried exhibition.

The range of work is from the traditional to cutting edge contemporary. The depth of exploration and experimentation of contemporary book arts is amply exemplified. The result makes for a visually interesting, intellectually stimulating, and a very exciting exhibition. The book’s iconic role in society, along with its distinctly material, physical, ‘objectness’, has attracted practitioners from a broad range of disciplines. The cross-fertilization that results is unique.

“A main goal of the Art of the Book exhibitions is to acquaint the public with what the book arts are, how diverse the work is within the book arts, and the high level of work being done – aesthetically, technically, and conceptually,” says co-curator of the exhibition Susan Corrigan.

Similar Exhibitions

Revival: The Personal Archive of Robert Aller

Robert Aller

Robert Aller, Mask

February 23 – April 11, 2010

Legacy Small Gallery

Curatorial team: Leah Taylor with Emma Conner, Karen Merrifield and Cindy Vance

Revival is a snapshot into the vast personal archives of the late artist and teacher Robert Aller. Revival is one concern that has been addressed throughout Aller’s artistic practice – he examines the loss of First Nation’s culture and becomes influenced by their history in craft and tradition, which surfaces in his drawings, paintings and basketry.

While studying under Arthur Lismur at the School of Art and Design in Montreal, Aller’s interest in native art grew, and in later years it became his lifelong challenge to document the lives of First Nations people.

Book Arts Mosaic & Millenium in a Box

Peter Sramek, Burning: il cuore aperto
Peter Sramek, Burning: il cuore aperto

October 6, 2007 – January 10, 2008

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPerson Library)

In celebration of the new millennium the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artist Guild (CBBAG) put on two exhibitions in 2007-08.

A Book Arts Mosaic features 25 pieces by 38 Canadian book artists portrayed in media as diverse as handmade papers, wood, leather, cotton, and photographs. This group of work focuses on the ethnic and cultural diversity of Canada. The collection includes pieces which are delightful or beautiful, moving or inspiring, amusing or thought provoking, and in toto provide ideas and stimulation, suitable for a wide viewing public and for students and instructors. The collection was conceived to present the great variety of techniques and materials used by members of the Canadian book arts community. Included are examples of structures such as of accordian, tunnel, miniature, Coptic, Japanese stab binding, open lectern, and Chinese whirlwind books, as well as pamphlets and broadsides. Techniques include handmade paper with and without watermarks, calligraphy, blind tooling, incised decoration, paper decorating, letterpress, printing, linocut, hand printed lithography, xylography, wax resist, collage and many contemporary techniques and technologies such as machine perforation, polyester resin casting, digital printing on film, digitized photographs, offset printing, giclée printing and computer layout.

Participants in A Book Arts Mosaic include: Jocelyne Aird-Bélanger, Walter Bachinski & Janis Butler (Shanty Bay Press), Joe Blades, Ingrid Hein Borch, Sara Butt, Susan Carr, Stephanie Dean-Moore, Karen & Geoffrey Hewett, Susan Warner Keene, Trisha Klus, Clarissa Lewis & Lise Melhorn-Boe, Judy Martin, Anne Graham McTaggart, Cathryn Miller, Micheline Montgomery, Jane Morgan, Akemi Nishidera, the Ottawa Press Gang, Rob Richards, Anik See, Shelagh Smith, Peter Sramek, Ann Stinner, Judith Welbourne & Derek Chung, Robert Wu, Joan Byers, Dorothy Field & Virginia Porter.

Millennium in a Box features 35 Canadian book artists’ interpretation of where the new millennium may lead, whether technically, socially or personally, and where the book arts may go. This exhibit features a similarly wide range of binding styles including tunnel, miniature, origami and concertina books.

Participants in Millenium in a Box included: Tara Bryan, Linda Brine, Susan Mills, Robin E. Muller, Jocelyn Aird-Bélanger, Hélèn Francoeur, Reg Beatty, Sigrid Blohm, Wendy Cain, Ian D. Clark, Mira Coviensky, Rebecca Cowan, Marion Cox, Holly Dean, Lise Melhourn-Boe, Dan Mezza, William Rueter, Shelagh Smith, Ted Snider, Alan Stein, Don Taylor, George Walker, Mercedes Cirfi Walton, Janet Carroll, Larraine Douglas, Matha Cole, Kathryn Hamre, Kristina Komendant, Lindley McDougall, Carolyn C. Qualle, Brian Queen, Pamela Barlow Brooks, Dorothy Field, Derek Cowan & Priscilla Tetley, and Ann Vicente.

Minutia

minutia setup

November 15, 2006 – January 12, 2007

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

Robert Kelly’s Minutia installation consisting of eleven “conceptual books” arranged on lecturnes in a thirty-foot circle. The title of the exhibit refers to the minute details in time. This project was inspired by a conversation with colleague which touched on words written by a Chinese immigrant who moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver. In a letter to his wife to encourage her to move to his newly adapted country, he penned the words “the first time I heard the sound of a page turning”. This was in reference to the relative quiet of his newfound land. Kelley found this sentence quit profound and realized, even though he turned pages every day, he was completely unaware of the sound of pages turning.
The essence of this work is that awareness of minutiae is fundamental to meaningfulness. Words from the English language were used as vehicles to explore this concept. This is linked to the contention that our experience of the world is defined through our language. This installation takes components from language, isolates them and recontextualizes them to create a stage for an exploration of the meaningless/ meaningful dynamic.

Each word from the sentence fragment “the first time I heard the sound of a page turning” is the subject of a conceptual book that comprised the main part of the installation. The eleven books are titled accordingly: The Book of The; The First; The Book of Time; The Book of I; The Book of Heard; Another Book of The; The Book of Sound; The Book of Of; The Book of A; The Book of Pages; and the Book of Turning. Each of the eleven books consist of a table of contents, foreword, preface, body of text and epilogue. Each one of the books are conceptually diverse.

The Book of The – This book consists of 307 pages of the word “the” written conscutively with a space between each word. This book is purely the isolation and repetition of a definite article from our language.

The Book of First – Foreword by Tonya Seyer. This book is based on the premise that no experience is ever repeated… everything is first.

The Book of Time – Foreword by Dr. R.F. Williamson. This book is a metaphor for different concepts of time. Each chapter explores time differently.

The Book of I – Foreword by Donald Kelly. This book deals with the concept of self. Each page contains an “I” statement relevant to the artist.

The Book of Heard – Foreword by Jeff Paittinson. This book deals with the concepts of past and present. Facing pages have oppositional paris of verbs in past and present tense.

Another Book of The – Foreword by Eric Cameron. This book is identical to the first except that text begins to fade and eventually disappear.

The Book of Sound – Foreword by Paul Woodrow. This book uses onomatopoeia to construct literal acoustic environments.

The Book of Of – Foreword by Ray Arnatt. This book takes “of” phrases from existing works and places them on a page in their exact location without any other text around.

The Book of A – Foreword by Jon Luna. This book simply repeats this indefinite article consecutively coupled with other words.

The Book of Pages – Foreword by Jamie Lafond. This is a book of pages.

The Book of Turning – Foreword by Derek Dunwoody. Page one consists of the words “the first time I heard the sound of a page turning” written along the bottom. The second page has “the second time I heard the sound of a page turning” written along the side of the page. The third page has “the third time I heard the sound of a page turning” written upside down along the top of the page. This pattern continues to the end of the book.

Art of the Book 2003

September 19 – November 2, 2003

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

This was the fourth juried members’ exhibit by the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild. Among dozens of books exhibited, there were miniature books, pop-ups, cut-outs, three dimensional architecture, and hand bound books.

Its a convergence of modern art and traditional bookmaking.

-Gayle Garlock, Friends of UVic Libraries

Similar Exhibitions:

André Jodoin: Public Selections

February 20 – March 12, 1995

McPherson Library Gallery

This was a somewhat controversial exhibition of a process of photocopying of the Regina Public Library returns carts. By superimposing the open pages of books, it was the artist’s intent to have them viewed instead of read. Jodoin hoped to make the viewer question the definition of text; is a photograph of a book’s page still pure text, or has it been transformed into a pure image of words?

My intent is to draw attention to the status and complexity of the work as a representation.

-André Jodoin, 1995

Two Centuries of Bookbinding: Materials & Techniques, 1700-1900

November 7 – December 19, 1993

Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery

Organized by The Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (Touring 1991-94)

Outlines the various stages and processes involved in fine binding and explains the differences between fine and case bindings.

Similar Exhibitions: