Boundaries:
Book Arts Between the Traditional and Experimental
In the Frame Shop Gallery
October 10, 2006 through January 5, 2007

What are the defining qualities of a book? This exhibit of artists’ books challenges the viewer’s pre-conceived notions of what a book is supposed to look like, and what it is supposed to contain within its covers. The books presented in this show are re-interpretations of the traditional form of the book in an array of media. The exhibition reveals that books can be more than passive vessels of knowledge; they have the potential to be dynamic pieces of art whose structure conveys its content (or meaning).

For instance, the pop-up silhouette book Freedom: A Fable, by renowned visual artist and MacArthur Fellow Kara Walker, uses the element of surprise to convey (and reinforce) its social and political message. Another featured artist, Susan Schwalb, uses the craft of silverpoint to express music in her book “Nocturne.” Some of these books follow a narrative form, while others simply convey feelings through illustration. Several poetry chapbooks are illustrated by a variety of techniques ranging from woodcuts to experimental processes.

Book artist Cathryn Griffith, whose work explores personal histories, has a coincident show at the Erie History Center. Her book, entitled “Weaving Hopes and Prayers--the richly textured story of five generations of strong women,” combines text with digital images of photographs, letters and a variety of historical objects to tell the successive stories of the women in her family.