Collection Spotlight: Eileen Arnow-Levine's Danse Macabre

In our Fine Art Collection is Danse Macabre, another chapbook by the darkly humorous Eileen Arnow-Levine. This book is 16 pages, staple and saddle stitched, contains offset lithography and illustrations. The subject matter is a modern take on Danse Macabre, or the Dance of the Dead.  Arnow claims to base her work specifically off of Hans Holbein the Younger’s woodcuts, which portray various people of all occupations being led by a skeleton.

Holbein’s work is the most popular of the initial records of Danse Macabre, being created in the 1520’s and executed in 1538, though records of this conceptual expression reach back 100 years prior. Arnow borrows the format of Holbein’s work, framing the episode with a thin black border and captions to describe the nature of the drawing.

[From Holbein's woodcuts circa 1520's]

[From Arnow's Danse Macabre, 1989]

Arnow’s success lies within her ability to provide relatable satire for the viewer. The serious nature of the original woodcuts were inspired by the plague, but Arnow’s take on a different type of plague while holding true to the idea of death’s immediacy. The Commutation depicts a young woman during her commute, hanging onto a strap facing death, who is also hanging on so he doesn’t fall over. The arduous and repetitive nature of commuting back and forth while inhabiting a liminal public space is appealing to Arnow’s sense of modern community. Arnow takes a common issue such as movement and updates it from Holbein’s modes (which range from walking, to ship, to plowing a field). 

Arnow’s work also divorces us from Holbein’s religious focus, driving us to recognize the plagues of popular culture, such as drunk driving. Though Arnow’s grim humor is certainly one of the most noticeable facets of her work, credit must be given to her consistent homage to foundational aspects of book arts and antiquated formatting. Other examples of this, and more works are available on her website.

Read more about this work here.

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Rebecca Kish

Collection Spotlight: Stephanie Brody-Lederman's "A Modern-Day Cowboy"

In our fine arts collection is a book called A Modern-Day Cowboy, by painter and book artist Stephanie Brody-Lederman. This book is unconventionally bound at the top with two brass paper binders, evoking the style of a reporter/steno notepad, or--more fitting for the book's symptomatic character--a medical chart.

 [click to enlarge]

Brody-Lederman tackles the subject of everyday experience while straddling the line of private vs. public interpretation. The book is a written record of one individual’s experience, and Brody-Lederman illustrates the text with various media and moody colors. In this piece, she uses stamps to execute variations on the image of a business man. Her application of sprayed and brushed paint encloses the subject, yet simultaneously works to imply a disconnect. The borders of the page serve to render the content episodic.

[click to enlarge]

Brody-Lederman has said that her works are inspired by the everyday, and the subject matter[1] here alludes to the tight grip of consumerism and the culture of possession. In reference to her character “Howard:” “He felt uncomfortable unless he was in the fastest moving lane” could refer to the divorce of man and machine rendered by anxiety as a sensory experience. Brody-Lederman’s work, though concretely serving as record, implies an emotional, personal response found in the diary-like curvature of dashes and often smudged cursive. While earlier works may rely more heavily on the symbolic[2], current paintings up on Brody-Lederman’s website indicate an ongoing, but maturing relationship with icons through a different medium.

You can read more about this piece here.

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[1] Gomez, Edward M. Art in America; Sep2008, Vol. 96 Issue 8, p171-171, 2/3p

[2] ART REVIEW; Two Who Transform The Ordinary Into Icons. New York Times [0362-4331] yr:1992 pg:20

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-Rebecca Kish

Collections Spotlight: Martha Carothers' You Bet

Martha Carothers' book You Bet is a pamphlet bound book of ten leaves. The paper is hand made and the cutouts are in the style of the four suits of a deck of cards (diamond, club, heart, spade). The text shown is meant to be a prompt in the style of “You Bet,” such as “You bet your life."

 

Perhaps the most interesting component of this book, from a craft standpoint, is Carothers clever embedding of thread within the paper. The thread acts as both a veil to the next page and a filler when lifted into the light, partially reconstructing the solid space that was excised.

 

Paper cutouts are a versatile means of altering a book, that can be used to create anything from extremely basic formal and abstract shapes to an intricate world constructed within negative space. Here Carothers opts for the subtraction of paper into easily recognizable shapes, but complicates the space through her use of embedded threads.

 

Currently available for Fall registration at the Center for Book Arts are our classes Short Cuts which explores different paper cutting techniques, pop-ups and silhouettes, as well as Fables and Fairy Tales: Paper Art Workshop which explores the art of the Victorian-style tunnel book. Both classes offer a 3D approach to paper construction and encourage you to flex your creativity.

To read more about this work, click here.

Rebecca Kish

Collections Spotlight: North American Hand Papermaking 1976, Richard Minsky, et al.

We are proud to be in possession of a compilation of papers featuring some of the best-known and most celebrated papermakers of recent history, bound by CBA founder Richard Minsky. Featuring over 32 artists, this portfolio of various papers is accordion bound and unfolds into a lengthy 51 feet for presentation purposes.

 

Each artist's entry includes the artist’s handmade paper on the left, and a photo and statement on the right. Because of the nature of the binding, each work can be viewed as an individual document, independent from the portfolio.

 

Amongst the included artists is the late Douglass Morse Howell (1906 – 1994) who became discouraged with the archival quality of paper in the 1930’s and eventually went on to open up his own paper studio, printing small editions of his work onto uniquely crafted papers. Experimenting with different components, textures, and colors, Howell used home grown flax, pure linen and local spring water. While not initially popular in book arts circles, Howell proved himself time and again, passing his knowledge on to many worthy students and producing his work proudly.

 

Also included: Roland Poska, a pioneer in papermaking who has been committed to the diversity and experimental components of paper since the purchase of his first grinder in 1967. Founder of the “Fishy Whale Press,” Poska  focused mainly on the forms and energy of nature, and is currently involved in the Great Human Race Initiative, a proposal to end prejudice and violence and achieve respect for all. His work makes use of the “deckle edge,” asserting the beauty and balance in that which is uneven.

 

This work serves as a collected document of diversity and innovation. Both traditional and experimental techniques are represented, providing a contrast and making this volume a source of American papermaking history. In two volumes (this being the first), the one-of-a-kind construction lends the feeling of importance to a new era of paper preservation.

At The Center for Book Arts, one of our Fall Classes available for immediate registration is Portable Papermaking. Learn how to set up a papermaking studio in a confined or nontraditional space, while churning out sheets of your own creation. Explore this ancient art in a traditional cadence or experimental rhythm and create paper that suits your own aesthetic.

On Howell:
http://www.laurencebarker.com/article_papertrails.html

On Poska:

http://www.lituanus.org/1987/87_4_06.htm

http://sacredartpilgrim.com/collection/view/53

Read more about this work here.

-Rebecca Kish