4/6/24
ARTISTS’ BOOKS DAY
ARTISTS' BOOKS DAY AT THE CLARK OFFERED A HANDS-ON, IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE WHERE VISITORS OF ALL AGES COULD EXPLORE THE TACTILE AND VISUAL DIMENSIONS OF ARTISTS’ BOOKS THROUGH LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS, INTERACTIVE STATIONS, AND SCHOLARLY DISCUSSIONS.
ART PROFESSIONALS, BOOK ENTHUSIASTS, STUDENTS, AND FAMILIES EXPLORED THE VISUAL AND TACTILE DIMENSIONS OF ARTISTS' BOOKS WITH LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS FROM REGIONAL ARTIST BOOK MAKERS.
SIMON ARIZPE, THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND PAPER ENGINEER BEHIND THE BABADOOK POP-UP BOOK AND STRANGER THINGS: THE ULTIMATE POP-UP BOOK, CAPTIVATED AUDIENCES AS HE REVEALED INTRICATE, POP-UP ELEMENTS FROM HIS BOOKS, EXCITING CHILDREN (AND THEIR PARENTS).
LISA HERSEY, FOUNDER OF THE EASTHAMPTON-BASED BOOKBINDERY ANTLER EDITIONS, OFFERED A HANDS-ON WORKSHOP ON DIFFERENT BOOKBINDING TECHNIQUES, FROM FOLDING AND CUTTING TO BINDING, POINTING TO THE TEXTURES OF THE PAPERS AND ADHESIVES.
NICK CONSTANTINO, THE CLARK LIBRARY’S BOOK CONSERVATIONIST, HELD A PAPER-MAKING STATION, BLENDING WESTERN AND JAPANESE TECHNIQUES TO CREATE SHEETS OF PAPER, PROVIDING A TACTILE CONNECTION BY ALLOWING ATTENDEES TO TOUCH THE RAW MATERIALS.
THE MICHAEL CONFORTI PAVILION WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A DYNAMIC SPACE, WITH THE THREE BOOKMAKING STATIONS ARRANGED IN A U-SHAPE, ALLOWING VISITORS TO SEAMLESSLY MOVE BETWEEN PRESENTATIONS AND INTERACT WITH THE CREATORS. THE ADJACENT ARTISTS’ BOOKS POP-UP EXHIBITION IN THE MANTON STUDY CENTER FOR WORKS ON PAPER OFFERED A MORE STUDIOUS ATMOSPHERE, WHERE VISITORS COULD LEAF THROUGH RARE AND CHERISHED WORKS, GUIDED BY THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR, WHOSE EXPERTISE OFFERED RICH INSIGHT INTO THE COLLECTION.
THE DAY CONCLUDED WITH A LECTURE BY ALEXANDRA J. GOLD, HEAD PRECEPTOR OF HARVARD’S WRITING PROGRAM, WHO DISCUSSED THE ARTIST'S BOOK NUMBERS BY ROBERT CREELEY AND ROBERT INDIANA, A CHERISHED WORK IN THE LIBRARY'S COLLECTION.
THE DAY’S ACTIVITIES FOSTERED A COLLABORATIVE AND IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE ATTENDEES OF ALL AGES WERE ENCOURAGED TO INTERACT WITH THE BOOKS, ASK QUESTIONS, AND DELVE INTO THE CREATIVE PROCESSES. THROUGH THESE INTERACTIONS, PARTICIPANTS GAINED A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR THE INNOVATION IN PUBLISHING AND THE ROLE OF BOOKS IN CONTEMPORARY ART, INSPIRING THEM TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THE MATERIALITY OF BOOKS AS BOTH OBJECTS AND ART FORMS.