Book Power Redux
BOOK POWER REDUX
Artist Books Addressing Our Social and Political World
May 30 - July 26, 2014 • 23 Sandy Gallery Portland, Oregon
August 5 - October 15, 2014 • University of Puget Sound Collins Library Tacoma, Washington
CONGRATULATIONS BOOK POWER REDUX AWARD WINNERS!
Best of Show: Susan Collard, Patricia Grass and Jaime Lynn Shafer
Library Purchase Prize: Emily Chaplain
About Book Power Redux
Book Power Redux is an international juried exhibition of book art addressing social and political issues. Artist books can be a powerful vehicle for social change and activism. For this show we sought out works that shine a light on some of the most vital issues of our day: race, diversity, equality, justice, bullying, poverty, civil rights, war and more.
Book artists have a unique opportunity given an accessible, multi-dimensional, multi-media format that can go beyond just making things to making things happen. The current social and political issues listed above are but a few topics concerned artists used to raise consciousness, call for justice or provoke action. We challenged artists to use their creative powers to solve the problems of the world.
Book Power Redux was juried by Jane Carlin and MalPina Chan and will travel to Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound from August 5 through October 15, 2014. It will be a featured event during a national conference focused on Race and Pedagogy taking place at the university in September.
Book Power Redux is accompanied by a full color print catalog.
Book Power Redux • Juror’s Statement
From the moment Gutenberg’s Bible was set to print, books have played a role in shaping society. The enduring legacy of the book as a powerful vehicle for social transformation is just as significant today as it was over five hundred years ago. Our selections represent a broad spectrum of book arts from the unique, hand-printed book to democratic multiples; from books in traditional format to those that push the boundaries of contemporary design. All the books have one theme in common—they challenge the viewer to confront the wide breadth of issues affecting contemporary society. War, gun violence, mental health, drug addiction, bullying, climate change, gender equality, race and diversity, genocide, domestic violence, socioeconomic disparity and privacy are themes showcased in this exhibit. These are critical social and political issues that affect our global community.
As jurors we strived to assemble a collection of books which would confront head-on these difficult themes, and provoke the viewer to consider these vital issues of our day and to create opportunities for dialog whether in the gallery, in the classroom, or in the community. When selecting these books we used a blind jury process and made selections based on the artist’s statement and photographs. We considered the art and craft of the work and how it addressed the theme of the show. We also took into consideration that not only would these books be displayed at 23 Sandy Gallery but also at the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound. Book Power Redux will be on exhibit for several months during which time a national conference on Race & Pedagogy will be held. We thought deeply about the educational value of each entry and how the books would not only educate, but inspire students and conference attendees to consider these vital social and political issues.
Our sincere thanks to all the artists who contributed and supported this exhibition. Your stories are sincere, personal, and inspiring. We truly believe that books and artists have the power to change the world. Thank you for sharing your stories.
Jane Carlin and MalPina
Book Power Redux features the work of the following artists:
Islam Aly, Iowa City, IA | Nava Atlas, Amberwood Press, New Paltz, NY | Mariona Barkus, Litkus Press, Culver City, CA | Amaranth Borsuk, Seattle, WA | Kate Boyes, Shore Pine Studios, Seal Rock, OR | Lark Burkhart, Ramona, CA | Ginger Burrell, Midnight Moon Press, Morgan Hill, CA | Larry Calkins, Issaquah, WA | Emily Chaplain, Kenner, LA | Lin Charlston, Shropshire, United Kingdom | Susan Collard, Portland, OR | Ann Coombs, Fuzzy Raptor Book Arts, Portland, OR | Katie Delay, Black Cat Graphics, Ottawa Hills, OH | Fiona Dempster, Queensland, Australia | Joan Iversen Goswell, Valencia, PA | Mari Eckstein Gower, Redmond, WA | Patricia Grass, Forest Grove, OR | Deborah Greenwood and Lucia Harrison, Greenwood Studio, Tacoma, WA | Yingzi Guo, Shenzhen, China | Leilei Guo, Beijing, China | Ian Hampton, Hammond, OR | Shawna Hanel, Boise, ID | Ellen Knudson, Crooked Letter Press, Gainesville, FL | Karen Koshgarian, Pig Pen Studios, Portland, OR | Aaron Krach, New York, NY | Carrie Larson, Concinnity Press, Hoquiam, WA | Mary Jeanne Linford, Mary Jeanne Linford and Lynn Agnew, Torn Paper Press, Bainbridge Island, WA | Jim Lommasson, Portland, OR | Julie Shaw Lutts, Salem, MA | Sarah S. Mallory, Brooklyn, NY | Lise Melhorn-Boe, Transformer Press, Kingston, Ontario, Canada | Bonnie Meltzer, Portland, OR | Cathryn Miller and Monique Martin, Grasswood, SK, Canada | Barbara Milman, Red Parrot Press, El Cerrito, CA | Lorinda Moholt, Portland, OR | Bonnie Thompson Norman, The Windowpane Press, Seattle, WA | Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring, Anagram Press and Springtide Press, Tacoma, WA | Lisa Onstad, Bobolink Press, Portland, OR | Nancy Orr, Portland, OR | Florian Palucci and Alex Barnawell, Berwyn, IL | Bettina Pauly, San Francisco, CA | Meryl Perloff, San Luis Obispo, CA | Jessica Peterson, Paper Souvenir, Northport, AL | Linda Piacentini-Yaple, Bend, OR | Nicole Pietrantoni, Walla Walla, WA | Amy Ryken, Tacoma, WA | Suzanne Sawyer, Down Home Girl Studio, Atlanta, GA | Dina Scheel, Los Altos, CA | Cynthia Schubert, Portland, OR | Jaime Lynn Shafer, Arlington, VA | Lynn Skordal, Mercer Island, WA | Tyler Starr, Wobble Press, Davidson, NC | Mary Uthuppuru, Spring Leaf Press, Bloomington, IN | Elsi Vassdal Ellis, EVE Press, Bellingham, WA | Christine Wagner, Beaverton, OR
Book Power Redux • Jurors
Jane Carlin is currently the Library Director at the Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound. Prior to joining Puget Sound, Jane was the senior librarian for the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Library and the University of Cincinnati as well as held posts at Oxford Brooks University in England, University of Texas at Arlington, and the Herron School of Art. Jane has long been an advocate of the book. Her graduate thesis, A History of Art Book Publishing in Great Britain, served as the foundation for many programs and classes she has taught on the art and history of the books. In 2008, Jane brought the book arts to the Collins Library and has worked with community members to form Puget Sound Book Artists, an organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the book arts. Jane is the curator of numerous exhibits at Collins and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the organization. She is also an active member of the Book Club of Washington and is Chair-Elect of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a network of 37 libraries serving Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
MalPina Chan was born in California and received her BFA from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Her portfolio includes works on paper, glass, mixed-media, and artist books and can be found in collections and exhibitions across the country. She curated both The Book as Art: Beyond Words and The Book as Art: Hand2Hand at Seattle’s Columbia City Gallery. In 2014, she curated Undercover Stories: The Secret Lives of Books at artEAST Gallery in Issaquah, Washington. MalPina’s work is included in 1,000 Artists’ Books: Exploring the Book as Art and 500 Handmade Books Volume 2. Her book titled Knock on Wood was included in Superstition XIII exhibition at San Francisco Center for the Book. MalPina’s projects also include independent curatorial work, teaching workshops and lecturing. She is a board member of the Puget Sound Book Artist organization and has curated two of the members’ annual exhibits. She lives and works in Olympia, Washington.
Laura Russell is the owner and director of 23 Sandy Gallery and is also a photographer and book artist. She creates hand-bound, limited-edition artist books that incorporate photographs of our urban landscape and tell a story about our culture and our communities. She has participated in national and international book arts and fine art exhibitions and her books are collected by individual collectors and major collections at museums, libraries, universities and corporations.