Special Collections Room, Bower Ashton Library:
The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now
21st July - 27th August 2010
The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now is the third international exhibition in The Art of the Book series.
The exhibition is presented by the University of Missouri - St. Louis, Department of Art and Art History in association with Special Collections at the St. Louis Mercantile Library, Washington University in St. Louis and the St. Louis Public Library, The University of Missouri at Columbia, The Centre for Fine Print Research at The University of the West of England and The Winchester School of Art Library at the University of Southampton.
US curators Marian Amies; Alla Barabtarlo; Erin Davis; Julie Dunn-Morton; Yael Even; Jean Gosebrink; Mike Holland and Karen Witt and UK curators Sarah Bodman, Linda Newington and Tom Sowden write about their selections for the show in an 84 page illustrated exhibition catalogue. Exhibition series curator, Marian Amies, Associate Professor at UM - St. Louis, states that as a dual national of the UK and the US her goal for this third exhibition is to show to visitors on each side of the Atlantic aspects of each culture that may not be widely known to both audiences.
For example for British visitors, journals demonstrate aspects of the midwest and Mississippi river exploration from the collections mentioned above including a 1904 St. Louis's World's Fair Louisiana Purchase Exposition official photographic souvenir journal. Historic journals focusing on the US midwest area include ledger art from Battles of Little Shield Chief of the Arapaho drawn by himself and travel journals by early explorers of the midwest. Contemporary journals show work by Lilia Irene Compadre, Lindsay Harkema and Jessica Senne on cultural history and current urban development in the St. Louis, Missouri and the Illinois midwestern region. Travel journals by UM - St. Louis design students of observations of Senegalese culture and British culture are included as well as work from several midwest area book artists.
A contemporary scroll journal documents everything Nick Baker, documentary film maker, ate for a two year period. European journal works include Reijjo Karkkoinen's Money Tax, documenting views on the Iraqi war in a an edition by the Dernier Cri Press; Linda Newington's book Villandry, inspired by a sixteenth century garden in the Loire, elegantly explores rose imagery in many forms; Becky Adams’ A Small and Slightly Curious Book honours the infamous Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Posonby of Plas Newydd.
In a featured review in the April 29 2010 edition of the St. Louis Riverfront Times, Jessica Baran describes the exhibition: 'A collection of historic and contemporary journals ranging from notations of expenses by Michelangelo to handmade books by University of Missouri students...' 'Travel, mapping, ecology, decay, personal memoir - even the smallest subjects receive bound treatment, creating an expansive range of approaches to and thinking about the journalistic urge.'
The catalogue is available to visitors to the exhibition at Bristol and Winchester; catalogue proceeds support The Art of the Book Scholarship fund supporting the study of book arts overseas by UM - St. Louis Graphic Design BFA students.
The exhibition runs at Bristol until 27th August and will then visit Winchester from October 4 to November 12, 2010.
The UM Research Board and the Center for International Studies at UM - St. Louis have provided funding for printing the catalogue and for the travel costs for the exhibition.
For more information please contact Marian at
amies@umsl.eduback