Infinite Possibilities: Math, Science, Book Arts

Infinite Possibilities:
Math, Science, Book Arts
November 30 - December 29, 2012 • 23 Sandy Gallery

Congratulations to the Infinite Possibilities Best of Show Award winners:
Macy Chadwick, Susan Collard & Susan Lowdermilk.

Congratulations also to our Librarian's Choice Purchase Prize Award winners:
Katherine Pulido, Elizabeth Sanford & Dorothy A. Yule.

The subjects of art, math, and science aren’t nearly as disparate as they sometimes seem. By those in the know, meaning those left-brained, analytical types, math and science are often viewed and described in artistic terms: the eloquence of an equation, the beauty of a concept. And as those right-brained, creative types can attest, critical exploration will often result in unique creations and unexpected discoveries. To all subjects, the spark of imagination is essential.

Infinite Possibilities shows us how math and science can be used as a source of artistic inspiration to book artists who are thinking creatively about such topics. Taking a wide range of approaches—from serious to humorous—participating artists explore mechanical and theoretical concepts extracted from a diverse range of scientific fields: from mathematics to medicine, space, architecture, engineering, physics, genetics, botany, biology, and more.

For instance, in his must-see book, The Observatory, Timothy C. Ely delves into ideas of history, perception, optics, and lens grinding. Ely tells us, “The Observatory is a visual laboratory where forays into the imaginary mind are made real by the measurements of the lens. This book honors such a location and, as a parallel aim, evokes and extends the range of the inner eye.” Using a creative twist to solve an analytic problem, local artist Cynthia Nawalinski has devised a way to capture and record the pattern of rain with her book, Ten Seconds of Rain. Nawalinski explains, “through many experiments I developed a way to translate the rain from an ephemeral event to an archival, scientific record. Every print contains a record of the precipitation as an image of dots and splotches. Each two-page spread is a visual record of ten seconds of rain, at a specific time, on a specific day.”

Infinite Possibilities is accompanied by a full color print catalog.

Juried by Laura Russell, owner of 23 Sandy Gallery and by guest co-juror Dina Scheel, a Bay-area book artist and collector, Infinite Possibilities features the work of the following artists:

Alexis Arnold, San Francisco, CA | Rachael Ashe, Vancouver, BC | Alicia Bailey, Aurora, CO | Susan Bonthron, Guilford, VT Servane Briand, Palo Alto, CA | Patty Bruce, Boston, MA | Macy Chadwick, Oakland, CA |Judith Christensen, San Diego, CA |Susan Collard, Portland, OR | Kindra Crick, Portland, OR | Katie Delay, Ottawa Hills, OH | Timothy Ely, Colfax, WA | Casey Gardner, Berkeley, CA | Patricia Grass, Forest Grove, OR | Karen Hardy, Philadelphia, PA | Lucia Harrison, Tacoma, WA | Paula Jull, Pocatello, ID | Heather Kasvinsky, Fairbanks, AK | Margarita Kloss, Albany, CA | Bryan Kring, Oakland, CA | Susan Lowdermilk, Eugene, OR | Erin Mickelson, Portland, OR | Cathryn Miller, SK, Canada | Bessie Smith Moulton, Falmouth, ME | Catherine Nash, Tucson, AZ | Cynthia Nawalinski, Portland, OR | Janis Nedela, North Fremantle, Australia | Jackie Niemi, Yakima, WA | Carol Norby, Pisgah Forest, NC | Tara O'Brien, Philadelphia, PA | Meryl Perloff, San Luis Obispo, CA | Dr. Bob Pliny, Portland, OR | Katherine Pulido, Philadelphia, PA | Sibyl Rubottom, San Diego, CA | Elizabeth Sanford, Nashville, TN | Jean Segaloff, Cambridge, MA | Julie Shaw Lutts, Salem, MA | Maria Talavera, Phoenix, AZ | Andrew Topel, Orange City, FL | Elsi Vassdal Ellis, Bellingham, WA | Katherine Venturelli, Fiddletown, CA | Laurie Weiss and Marilyn Worrix, Cornelius, OR | Thomas Parker Williams, Philadelphia, PA | Karen Wirth, Minneapolis, MN | Beverly Womack, Placentia, CA | Dorothy A. Yule, Oakland, CA