CHAPTERS 8: SoCal Book Arts Explored V

CHAPTERS 8: SoCal Book Arts Explored V

Final thoughts…for now…

The Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” curated by Holly Jerger through May 7, 2017.

“Chapters explores the significance of Southern California artists in establishing the field of book arts from the 1960s to present day. The exhibition highlights over 60 artists, presses, and organizations who explore ideas related to conceptualism, feminism, process, and community building through artists’ books, sculptural forms, small editions, and zines. “–CAFAM

Artists’ Books pack the proverbial punch…I did not get photos of the labels for these…but their power is made manifest through their forms. Visit the show to see them up close (well, closer-) and personal.  They are, both personal, and universal.

You can still catch the show for another almost week.

Check it out!

In the next few posts I will explore  and share my interactive book, “Chromatic Interactions” commissioned for the show and its viewers become participants. An interesting perspective.

Let’s hear it for Free Speech.

CHAPTERS 7: SoCal Book Arts Explored IV

CHAPTERS 7: SoCal Book Arts Explored IV

The Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” curated by Holly Jerger through May 7, 2017.

“Chapters explores the significance of Southern California artists in establishing the field of book arts from the 1960s to present day. The exhibition highlights over 60 artists, presses, and organizations who explore ideas related to conceptualism, feminism, process, and community building through artists’ books, sculptural forms, small editions, and zines. “–CAFAM

Here are some of the book works shown….some provocative, fun and unusual bindings, structures and forms.

Charlene Matthews‘ James Joyce “Ulysses” pole piece. hand lettered.

Concentric cutouts…

The seeming simplicity of these ties…

Flag and accordion structures…looks like the addition of single signature as well onto the accordion.

Wallace Berman…Semina Culture.

C.K. Wilde…cut-outs…

Nancy Jo Haselbacher…words on words…

 Turkish Map Fold…Nick Herman

The wondrous Kitty Maryatt…this wild, bridge-like structure…

All this an more at the Craft and Folk Art Museum‘s CHAPTERS exhibition…through May 7, 2017!  Don’t Miss It!

CHAPTERS 6: SoCal Book Arts Explored III

CHAPTERS 6: SoCal Book Arts Explored III

The Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” curated by Holly Jerger through May 7, 2017.

“Chapters explores the significance of Southern California artists in establishing the field of book arts from the 1960s to present day. The exhibition highlights over 60 artists, presses, and organizations who explore ideas related to conceptualism, feminism, process, and community building through artists’ books, sculptural forms, small editions, and zines. “–CAFAM

Here are some of the book works shown….speaking for themselves.

You can visit the show through May 7, 2017, and continue through the chapters of CHAPTERS.

CHAPTERS 5: SoCal Book Arts Explored II

CHAPTERS 5: SoCal Book Arts Explored II

The Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” curated by Holly Jerger through May 7, 2017.

“Chapters explores the significance of Southern California artists in establishing the field of book arts from the 1960s to present day. The exhibition highlights over 60 artists, presses, and organizations who explore ideas related to conceptualism, feminism, process, and community building through artists’ books, sculptural forms, small editions, and zines. “–CAFAM

Here are some of the book works shown….

The amazing Wallace Berman…photographer and assemblage artist. We lost him too soon…

The work of contemporary book artist  Machelle Choi from Otis Collage of Art and Design. I love the use of frames…and string.

More to come…as we continue through the chapters of CHAPTERS.

CHAPTERS 4: SoCal Book Arts Explored

CHAPTERS 4: SoCal Book Arts Explored

The Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” through May 7, 2017.

“Chapters explores the significance of Southern California artists in establishing the field of book arts from the 1960s to present day. The exhibition highlights over 60 artists, presses, and organizations who explore ideas related to conceptualism, feminism, process, and community building through artists’ books, sculptural forms, small editions, and zines. “–CAFAM

Here are some of the book works shown….

” ARCH” honors women architects….

Museum member walk-through…curator Holly Jerger absorbs an artist’s narrative about her book.

The wondrous works of Howard Marshall…who infuses music and his heritage deftly into his books.His line drawing shows expertise, exactitude and expressiveness.

The richly textured works of AfroPuff’s Adah Glenn are beautiful and highly tactile. Her use of textured papers brings us directly into a sense of the haptic.

Machelle Choi shares about her book created at the Otis College of Art and Design. She graduated in 2016, and shows a moving book about bridging the gap with her parents, which includes an interesting use of frames.

More to come…as we continue through the chapters of CHAPTERS.

CHAPTERS 3: “We Write the Book”

CHAPTERS 3: “We Write the Book”

The wonderful Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view the exhibition, “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” through May 7, 2017.

I had the opportunity of creating an interactive book for the show, one that potentially 8000 viewers/participants could become co-creators of by adding and subtracting color, pattern, graphics and text as they so chose.

Cards and pencils nearby encourage patrons to become participants.

“Windows” are uniform, to allow messages to show/shine through.

Some wrote stories, employing the ancient “There Once Was…”

Some, one word.

Some expressed philosophy…

Others,  directives.

Some messages came together to create new meanings and  inadvertent poetry.

Some seemed to write a journal entry,

Some declared their vision.

Some drew,

Some shared experiences.

Some got creative with the grid,

 ALL created with the form.

The form of the book is a window to infinite possibilities. You can see many of them in the show.   On view through May 7, 2017.  

CHAPTERS 2: Opening at CAFAM!

CHAPTERS 2: Opening at CAFAM!

The wonderful Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” through May 7, 2017.

Kitty Maryatt

John Baldassari

I need to investigate this further…

Exciting take on accordion fold structure…

Allen Ruppersberg

Must get back to CAFAM...and take another look!

CHAPTERS I : “Chromatic Interactions”

CHAPTERS I: “Chromatic  Interactions”

The wonderful Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles currently has on view “Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California” through May 7, 2017.

I had the opportunity of creating an interactive book for the show, one that potentially 8000 viewers/participants could become co-creators of by adding and subtracting color, pattern, graphics and text as they so chose.

I created the flag book  structure from book board (covers),

watercolor paper (accordion spine), rice paper (covering the spine),

repurposed file folders (torn into pieces to “cover the covers” and folded to form the flag page pockets), linen thread (to stitch the flag pages/pockets), Lineco Neutral pH Adhesive (for gluing) ,
and colored file cards (to write and draw upon, and insert into the pockets in varied arrangements), to create  “Chromatic Interactions”.
I aligned the ‘windows” in the covers, with the windows cut out of the flag book pockets, 

so that the file cards would read through the front and back cover apertures.
The results of offering the public the opportunity to express themselves through interacting with the book were fascinating.

I was moved that participants were expressing their feelings about current events, and the “state of the nation”. 
Some just got silly and had fun.

Some asked profound questions…reflecting what is on the collective mind.

Some waxed poetic.
And one young artist expressed her feelings through creating a bookmark, as all the windows were filled!

 Perhaps the greatest treasure of all…

Thank you Inez!

And thank you to the wonderful Holly Jerger, curator, for this amazing opportunity to give CAFAM viewers a voice..I am looking forward to seeing what else they have to say.