This is Not a Book: Chapter 2
Jun. 5 – Sep. 11, 2016
For the past decade, Seager Gray has taken the lead in presenting art related to books and recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of their now widely acclaimed Art of the Book exhibition, which takes place each May at the Mill Valley gallery. The ICA’s presentation culls from that rich history and continues where the ICA’s 2001 exhibition This is Not A Book left off. The current exhibition is curated by Donna Seager.
The typical anatomy of a printed book is text and/or images on paper, bounded by glue or sewn together. On the interior pages, authors write stories and information about places, memories, facts, and images, and on the exterior, a cover details the title of the book, name of the author, and often offers a teaser summary. In This is Not a Book: Chapter 2, 25 artists expand on the very essence of a book. The ubiquitous objects on the shelves of our homes or libraries have been astonishingly altered into wondrous sculptures. One might still discern the materiality of the pages and the characteristics of the covers. However, they are now transfigured into inventive forms, from intimate, finely carved objects to large-scale installations to glowing cubes. With curiosity, whit, and play, artists in This is Not a Book: Chapter 2 create sculptural objects that question our assumptions about book design, the future of the book, and our relationship to these ordinary, but important and cherished publications.
Participating Artists:
Guston Abright
Jody Alexander
James Allen
Doug Beube
Sarah Brown
Kim Henigman Bruce
Valerie Buess
Julie Chen
Marie Dern & Danielle Giudici Wallis
Brian Dettmer
Lauren DiCioccio
Jessica Drenk
Arian Dylan
Andrew Hayes
Helen Hiebert
Meg Hitchcock
Airan Kang
Lisa Kokin
Vince Koloski
Emily Payne
Maria Porges
Guy Laramine
Jacqueline Rush Lee
Sandi Miot
Mike Stilkey
Vita Wells
Barbara Wildenboer