#artsyfriday

#ArtsyFriday

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, Cinderella’s pumpkin turned into a motorcycle. Enjoy a look at Cinderella : how to make a statement without saying a word : told in words and pictures from fashion magazines. This artists’ book was created in 1997 by artist Lise Melhorn-Boe. One of 10 copies, the fairy tale of Cinderella is rewritten, told

"[…] using fashion magazine text and images to tell the traditional stories in a snarky way. 'Cinderella' is the first in this series. Melhorn-Boe used Grimm's version of the Cinderella tale. Since this is different from the more commonly known Perrault (and Disney) versions, she provided a synopsis of the Grimm tale on the back cover. See Cinderella chained to a fence or roaring away on her motorcycle."--Bookseller's description.  

The book includes elaborate popups and was printed on a photocopier at Transformer Press. Will modern Cinderella find her happily ever after?  

--Laura

#ArtsyFriday

What could be better than a historically inspired wooden book? How about a miniature historically inspired wooden book chained to a larger one!

 [Chained book on a book], a book object from artist Daniel Essig, features a double coptic stitch bound wooden book with a chained miniature book attached to the front board. Made in the style of an ancient codex, the tome is finished with brass bosses and leather clasps at the fore-edge. The curly oak wooden boards are covered with painted UICB paper that mimics the look of worn leather. The text block is completely blank, although the miniature features what appears as German blackletter printer’s waste. This is one of my favorite pieces to bring to classes, where it can spark a lot of conversations about historical practices like chained books and printer’s waste to how historical structures can be re-imagined in a contemporary piece. 

--Laura 

#ArtsyFriday

Enjoy Survival Knife #00, a funky book from the stacks. This collaborative artists’ book from Booklyn Artists Alliance was the product of a print/multiples exchange between over 50 artists with ties to Iowa City. It was compiled in 2010 by artist Joshua Doster. The contents—some of it original art—lives in a red pressboard file folder with pocket folders inside attached with metal fasteners. Inside is home to prints and art work from the collaborating artists. The pieces read as a kind of wacky stream of consciousness, from found objects to original art, collages, redacted poetry, and even an “FBI confidential file”. The banana knife on the cover is my favorite element. 

--Laura 

#ArtsyFriday

“And I am dumb to tell a weather's wind How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.” 

--Dylan Thomas 

Forces and Fossils marries poetry from Dylan Thomas with 19th century taxonomical illustrations from Ernst Haeckel through imaginative screenprints from artist Fred Hagstrom.  This drum leaf bound artists’ book was created in 2011 by Hagstrom and Strong Silent Type Press in Northfield Minnesota in a run of 20; our library copy is number 16. Dylan Thomas’s “The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower” was published in The Poems of Dylan Thomas in 1939. Ernst Haeckel’s 1862 Radiolaria contributed to the identification of these small sea creatures whose remains of intricate mineral skeletons are found on the ocean floor and as micro-fossils. The poem, illustrations, and book can be framed as both force and fossil as we are left to marvel at the imprints of the past.

--Laura 

x-Collection FOLIO N7433.4 .H25 F67 2011

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In a celebration of paper inspired by this week's Iowa Bibliophiles talk with the UICB’s legendary Tim Barrett, enjoy a glimpse into the awe inspiring A to Z: Marvels in Paper Engineering! Assembled in 2018 as a commemorative project of the Movable Book Society’s 25th anniversary, this booklet looks at the history, inspiration, and process of movable books and its connection to paper in the form of an alphabet of pop-up cards. Each engineered letter was designed by a different artist--from illuminations to abstractions and optical illusions, each letter comes to life. This beautiful pop-up alphabet was printed in a limited edition of 2,000. Here are just a few of our favorite letter designs!

--Laura  

#ArtsyFriday

Mesmer is one of the most mesmerizing artists’ books on our shelves. Bound in metal, it incorporates alternative book material such as screen and cellophane, translucent paper, and offset printing with metallic inks to make the pages come alive with overlay collage and popups. Originally a multi-media exhibit in 1990, Toni Dove distilled the installation into this engaging (and shiny!) artists’ book produced in 1993. From turning the metal pages to the effervescence of glimmering ink, it continues to bewitch a reader into an immersive reading experience. 

x-Collection FOLIO N7433.4.D6 M476 1993 

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What can we say, we love books! Enjoy this glimpse of a beautiful one--Only Love, a collaborative artists’ book featuring haiku poetry from jeweler and blacksmith Albion Smith in a Peter and Donna Thomas made book. Created in 2016 in a run of 30 copies, the piece features haiku from the master jeweler in a bronze ornamented black pigskin binding. The 1,217 letters printed throughout were handsawn from copper sheet, mounted on blocks, and handprinted onto handmade colored papers made from Albion’s workclothes made by Peter and Albion. The artists’ book is accompanied by a booklet on the making of the book. The book is an excellent exemplar of the possibilities of intricate details and collaboration between artists, the books they create, and the readers who have the luck to enjoy them.  

Happy Valentine’s Day! May it include books and chocolate. ♡

--Laura 

#ArtsyFriday

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”      - John Keats

This artists’ book--truly a thing of beauty!--was pulled this week for the visiting lecture from Brian Rejack (Associate Professor of English, Illinois State University) in UI English Professor Eric Gidal’s ‘Romanticism and Ecocritical Book Studies’ course which is using special collections materials throughout the semester. Illustrating a John Keat’s poem, the artist uses “calligrams” (calligraphy and line as image) and printed verses to translate the three, eleven-line stanzas onto double page spreads. Created by David Esslemont in 2008 with Solmentes Press in Decorah, Iowa, this artists’ book was printed in four editions; our library copy is bound in quarter-cloth with a handdrawn title from the artist. The book was digitally printed; when viewed altogether, the images form an abstract view of a maple tree in fall colors.

The poem’s first reference is found in a letter from the poet to his friend John Reynolds in September of 1819. To learn more about the life of John Keats through his letters, check out the Keats Letter Project, which posts commentary along with a copy of a Keats letter on the 200th anniversary of each correspondence. It’s a fascinating project to learn more about the poet behind the lines and the Romantic period. 

--Laura 

x-Collection FOLIO PR4834 .T63 2008