Book Arts Baltimore (BAB) is an informal partnership among several Baltimore-area institutions supporting a common goal: celebrating artists’ books and book arts. Launched by M&S and the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in 2013 in anticipation of a related exhibition at the BMA (Off the Shelf: Modern and Contemporary Artists Books), it was intended to foster connections between local universities, museums, libraries, and the wider public. Activities under M&S leadership included encouraging new course development and cross-registration across campuses, championing dialogue among exhibitions, and putting shared ideas and resources toward joint public programs, including speakers, symposia, and workshops.
The seed project for BAB—a course in M&S and the resulting Off the Shelf exhibition—was made possible in part by a grant to JHU’s Program in Museums and Society by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. At the close of the exhibition in June, 2017, BAB will continue to operate through its various affiliated members. Find out more by visiting the website of the Kelmscott Book Shop.
Participating Institutions
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- Goucher College
- Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries
- Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
- Loyola-Notre Dame Library
- Loyola University
- MICA
- The Walters Art Museum
- UMBC
- The Kelmscott Bookshop
Courses at BAB Institutions
This is a list of relevant courses at BAB institutions taught between 2015 and 2017. Courses were open to all students in the Baltimore Collegetown Network through the Baltimore Student Exchange Program.
Spring 2017
(Goucher) GER 240 German Comics & Graphic Novels
What are comics, picture books and graphic novels? How do they tell stories? What are their elements? How do text and image work together? Are they literature? Art? How do they fit into literary and art movements of the 19th, 20th, and 21st century? These are the questions that will drive this course on German literature. This class is taught in German. Instructor: Antje Sabine Krueger, [email protected]
(Goucher) ENG 242 From the Puritan Diaries to Oprah’s Book Club: Reading and Writing in America
Using insights gleaned from various disciplines, this course examines the history of reading and writing in America. In particular, we will study how written texts are produced, disseminated, and consumed. Topics include Indians and the discovery of print; the sentimental novel; slave narratives; religious readers; the making of an American literary canon; comic books in modern America; and, of course, Oprah’s book club. *Prerequisite: sophomore standing or HIS 110 or HIS 111 Instructor: Matthew Hale, [email protected]
(Goucher) HP 270 Life and Labor at Epsom Farm
The story of Epsom Farm, which occupied the land upon which Goucher College was built, has yet to be written. This course will explore Epsom’s past by studying manuscript diaries, journals, and letters that document the lives of the farm owners as well as the lives of the enslaved workers, wage workers, and craftsmen who labored on the farm. To facilitate the study of original manuscripts, students will learn methods of documentary transcription and editing. Instructor: Tina Sheller, [email protected]
(Goucher) WRT 281 Graphic Novel
Many children learn to read by reading comics, yet for decades, comics were, at best, considered poor writing and were banned from classrooms and libraries. Today, however, comics have become a multimillion-dollar industry and have captured both popular and scholarly imaginations. Why is this so? This class seeks to investigate this paradox and other related big questions (what is originality? What makes great art great?) by examining comic and sequential art through its representative genres, and by diving into the creative process itself. *Prerequisite: WRT 181/181H or sophomore standing Instructor: Charlee Sterling, [email protected]
(JHU) 010.310 The ‘Long Sixties’ in Europe
Emphasis will be on advanced artistic practice primarily in France, Italy, the Benelux, and German-speaking countries; students will curate an exhibition of avant-garde journals from the Sheridan Libraries. Permission required. Instructor: Molly Warnock, [email protected]
(JHU) 389.343 Edgar Allan Poe and His Afterlives
We will investigate the creative development and iconic afterlife of a canonical American author, Edgar Allan Poe, as a case-study in literary legacy and cultural heritage. What is the lifespan of a literary work, and how do works “stay alive” for later generations? Students will examine rare Poe materials and create a digital exhibition of Poe archives. Instructor: Gabrielle Dean, [email protected]
(Loyola) The Bible as Book
Instructor: Kerry Boeye, [email protected]
(Loyola) Book Arts and Artists’ Books
Instructor: Janet Maher, [email protected]
(MICA) PR 205.01 Chapbooks & Broadsides
An introduction to letterpress printing through the use of poetic language. This course will review the basic concepts of letterpress printing and history. Students will edition a series of unique broadsides and chapbooks working with basic hand typesetting, using metal type, wood type, and finally the composition of polymer plates for letterpress printing. Instructor: Isabel Lederman, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 266.01 Book Illustration
The course serves as an introduction to the art of the illustrated story. Students learn traditional parts and functions of illustration when it pertains to books as well as the fundamentals when it comes to choosing the themes to visualize in a narrative. A basic history of the Illustrated Book is covered with both historical and contemporary examples examined. Instructor: Joyce Hesselberth, [email protected]
(MICA) GFA 305.01 Mixed Media Book
Contemporary book forms. Create with a variety of materials, exploring the relationship between the book form and materials selected. Exploration of trace monoprints, paper cutting, wet and dry media, embroidery drawing, alternative surfaces, and dipped paper encaustics for transparent books. Studio course. Instructor: Stephanie Garmey, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 366.01 Advanced Book Illustration
Students are expected to have knowledge of all the basic concepts involved in illustrating a story. In this class the students tackle the advanced aspects of book illustration, including styles, market, reproduction, etc. Students will work on independent projects and explore the subject in depth. A wide variety of illustrated books are addressed. *Prerequisite: IL 266 Instructor: Shadra Strickland, [email protected]
(MICA) AH 430 Making Medieval Books
This course provides a survey of European manuscript production from the early medieval period through the late Gothic era, and touches on the early history of printed books. Students learn about the lavish miniatures found in deluxe manuscripts and examine the ornamental treatment of the text, including display script, illuminated initials, colored parchment, and marginalia. *Prerequisite: AH 201 Instructor: Owen Phelan, [email protected]
Intersession 2017
(JHU) 360.128 Introducing the George Peabody Library
Love social media and rare books? Why not combine the two? In this course students will learn about the history of the George Peabody Library, explore its incredible collection of rare books, and creatively share the library’s mysteries through social media. From a whirlwind survey of book history to examining how modern technology is giving rare materials new audiences, students will see that there is life in that old book yet. Instructor: Heidi Herr, [email protected]
Fall 2016
(JHU) AS.010.228 Prophets, Kings, and Demons: The Art of Islamic Book Painting
Despite the widespread misconception that Islam forbids images of humans and animals, figural representation played a rich and varied role in the historical arts of the Muslim world, particularly in the form of book painting. This course explores the production and consumption of illustrated Islamic manuscripts and albums, situating the paintings in their wider artistic and social contexts. Students will have the opportunity to look at examples of this art firsthand in local collections. Instructor: Staff
(JHU) AS.371.305 Photographs and Text: The Art of the Narrative
In the tradition of the illuminated manuscript, students will use photographs and text creatively to tell a story. Their journey will begin with visits to Johns Hopkins University museums, where they will choose an object as inspiration for their narrative. Field trips to the JHU museums will be an integral part of this course. The resulting portfolios of five large prints will be curated by Evergreen Museum and Library Director James Abbott for an exhibition at Evergreen Museum. Instructors: Phyllis Berger, [email protected] and Betty Sweren
(JHU) AS.389.356 Halls of Wonder: Art, Science, and Literature in the Age of the Marvelous, 1500-1800
Explore the material culture of “wonder” from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment in literature, science, and art, with Hopkins’ rare book collections and the Walters Art Museum. M&S practicum course. Cross-listed with the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, History, and History of Art. Instructor: Earle Havens, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 272.01 Sequential Art
An introduction to the art of comics: making effective, strong and original layouts is emphasized. History of the medium, current trends, orthodox and experimental narrative techniques that are possible. Concentrating on the visual narrative structure, students learn how to create clear panel-to-panel transitions and dynamic layouts. Studio course. Instructor: Alain Corbel, [email protected]
(MICA) PR 294.01 Papermaking and Book Structure
This course will focus on the historical beginnings of the codex and handmade paper. Focusing on both Eastern and Western tradition in papermaking and bookbinding, this course familiarizes students with the practicality of the materials, tools, and techniques used in both processes. Students develop an understanding of basic elements for constructing books. Sophomores and juniors only. Instructor: Gail Deery, [email protected]
(MICA) GFA 305.01 Mixed Media Book
Contemporary book forms. Create with a variety of materials, exploring the relationship between the book form and materials selected. Exploration of trace monoprints, paper cutting, wet and dry media, embroidery drawing, alternative surfaces, and dipped paper encaustics for transparent books. Studio course. Instructor: Stephanie Garmey, [email protected]
(MICA) LIT 307-TH.01 The Nature of the Book
This course examines the recent literature concerning the emergence of print culture since the introduction of moveable print to Western Europe in the 15th century. Particular themes and issues explored will include the relationship of the new media of the printed book to the existing media of orality and manuscript and the evolving nature of reading practices. Instructor: D. Alan Orr
(MICA) PH 354 Photographic Book
An artist’s book class that uses photographic imagery as its primary source. The photographic book extends the photographic series into time and space. Assignments focus on book structures and book binding, image sequencing, and page design. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I) Instructor: Jay Gould, [email protected]
(MICA) PR. 354.01 Artists’ Books
Introduction to artists’ books: simple book structures, relationship of text and image, papermaking, digital file set-up, and offset printing. Writing exercises and visual components, placement of text and image, and more. Papermaking, file preparation using Adobe programs to prepare for offset printing. Open to all majors, undergraduate and graduate students. Studio course. Instructor: Isabel Lederman, [email protected]
Spring 2016
(JHU) AS.220.437 Creating the Poetry Chapbook
Writing Seminars students will build on previous work in the major by completing a project of sustained length, depth, and cohesion (25-30 pages) in their final semester. The course will include independent creative and critical work, peer review and discussion, and meetings with the instructor. Students will also engage in exploration of book arts and the chapbook form through field trips and hands-on investigation. Application only; Advanced Poetry prerequisite. Instructor: Dora Malech, [email protected]
(JHU) AS. 389.354 Paper Museums: Exhibiting Books at The Baltimore Museum of Art
Students work with the collection and staff of the Baltimore Museum of Art to develop and organize an exhibition of artists’ books scheduled for the spring of 2017. Various aspects of museum work are explored, including research, interpretation, presentation, programming, and marketing. Instructor: Rena M. Hoisington, [email protected]
(JHU) AS.389.355 Reading the Peabody: Literary Culture in the Nineteenth-Century Library
The George Peabody Library, Baltimore, MD. Photograph by Logan Hicks (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Tuesdays, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Instructor: Gabrielle Dean, [email protected]
(Goucher) ART 120 Book Binding & Artists’ Books
A hands-on course to learn basic bookbinding skills and techniques including Japanese, case, and library binding. Students will explore the rich field of artists’ books, altered books, and journals, while examining the relationship between text, visual narrative and sequencing. Students will gain practical knowledge of paper, tools, and materials. Instructor: Allyn Massey, [email protected]
(Goucher) BKS 220 Baltimore Libraries: Past, Present, Future
This course will explore the rich history of Baltimore libraries through readings, discussion and site visits. We will also look more broadly at the history of libraries in the United States, and consider larger questions such as how libraries reflect changing ideas about books and society. Instructor: Nancy Magnuson, [email protected]
(Goucher) BKS 382 The Art and History of the Book
This course surveys the history of the book and book illustration in the West, with emphasis on the art and poetics of word and image from ancient scrolls and the medieval codex to the printed and hypertext page. Instructor: April Oettinger, [email protected]
(Goucher) HP 213/BKS 213 Historical Archaeology and Material Culture
This course will examine the goals, methods, and contributions of archaeology to Historic Preservation and the historical record. It will also focus on understanding and interpreting the meaning of objects, artifacts, and cultural landscapes as historical evidence. *Prerequisite: HP 110 or sophomore standing Instructor: Tina Sheller, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 202.01 Visual Journalism
Observational drawing is the foundation for all work and study in visual journalism. Students travel throughout Baltimore City meeting and recording its people, music, social fabric, and urban landscape (for example, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra rehearsals, jazz ensembles, markets, and Baltimore’s neighborhoods). Students will study historical examples of reportage art. Studio course. Instructor: Warren Linn, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 230.01 Narrative: Words and Pictures
How to tell an original story, basic aspects of narrative structure. Students make their own stories through writing and image making, including personal narratives, adaptations of Classic tales and new fictional creations. Stories will have conventional and non-conventional plots, and utilize a variety of materials, both traditional and nontraditional. Studio course. Instructors: David Drakula and Gel Jamlang, [email protected]
(MICA) GFA 235.01 Papercuts 2D to 3D
Inventive contemporary paper forms with a look back to traditional paper cuts from history. The course explores papel picado (perforated paper), silhouettes, paper engineering, sculptural structures, installation, LED lights, 3D book structures, pop-ups, shadow puppets, three-dimensional theaters, and collage. Studio course. Instructor: Stephanie Garmey, [email protected]
(MICA) PR 248.01 Letterpress
This introductory course explores the current use of traditional letterpress production and is ideal for the artist, writer, poet, or designer who seeks to produce combinations of word with images in a professional, fine art, limited-edition format. Students are introduced to setting type, running the Vandercook letterpress, pilot presses, and proofing press. Instructor: Mary Mashburn, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 266.01 Book Illustration
The course serves as an introduction to the art of the illustrated story. Students learn traditional parts and functions of illustration when it pertains to books as well as the fundamentals when it comes to choosing the themes to visualize in a narrative. A basic history of the Illustrated Book is covered with both historical and contemporary examples examined. Instructor: Joyce Hesselberth, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 272.01 Sequential Art
An introduction to the art of comics: making effective, strong and original layouts is emphasized. History of the medium, current trends, orthodox and experimental narrative techniques that are possible. Concentrating on the visual narrative structure, students learn how to create clear panel-to-panel transitions and dynamic layouts. Studio course. Instructor: Alain Corbel, [email protected]
(MICA) GFA 305.01 Mixed Media Book
Contemporary book forms. Create with a variety of materials, exploring the relationship between the book form and materials selected. Exploration of trace monoprints, paper cutting, wet and dry media, embroidery drawing, alternative surfaces, and dipped paper encaustics for transparent books. Studio course. Instructor: Stephanie Garmey, [email protected]
(MICA) PR 340.01 History of Paper Structure
History, conservation, and artistic applications of paper, including the history and contemporary practice of hand papermaking will be discussed. Studio course. *Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.
(MICA) PR. 354.01 Artists’ Books
Introduction to artists’ books: simple book structures, relationship of text and image, papermaking, digital file set-up, and offset printing. Writing exercises and visual components, placement of text and image, and more. Papermaking, file preparation using Adobe programs to prepare for offset printing. Open to all majors, undergraduate and graduate students. Studio course. Instructor: Isabel Lederman, [email protected]
(MICA) IL 366.01 Advanced Book Illustration
Instructor: Shadra Strickland, [email protected]
(MICA) PH 375.01 Narrative Strategies
It is said that a photograph wears the aspect of fact but says nothing. This ambiguity has not prevented photographs from being used to construct visual stories such as the classic picture essay. This course explores how editing and sequencing create relationships between images. The role of text and the use of allegory in contemporary photographic practice are also considered. Studio course. Instructor: Lynn Silverman, [email protected]
(MICA) AH 430.01 Making and Using Books in the Middle Ages
Survey of European manuscript production from early medieval period through late Gothic eras, and touches on the early history of printed books. Includes trips to the Walters Art Museum to view manuscripts. Instructor: Owen Phelan, [email protected]
Intersession 2016
(JHU) AS. 389. 173 Books in Early Baltimore
Explore early Baltimore through the lens of Homewood Museum and the Carroll Family. Take a closer look at papers, printing, bookbinding and bookplates and try your hand at papermaking and printing techniques. Discover the offerings of local printers and booksellers through primary resources, and how books were available to those who could not otherwise afford them, through the Library Company of Baltimore (1797) whose collections are now part of the holdings of JHU’s George Peabody library. Instructor: Catherine Arthur, [email protected]
Fall 2015
(JHU) AS.389.353 Revolutions of the Book: Material Culture and the Transformation of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance
This course explores the material culture of knowledge through transformations in the technologies and arts of communication. It is taught entirely from rare books, manuscripts, and artifacts in the JHU libraries and museum collections. Instructor: Earle Havens, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Sheridan Libraries, [email protected]
(JHU) AS.010.322 Knowledge, Holiness, and Pleasure: The Illustrated Book in the Medieval World
The course investigates the role of the illustrated book within the political, religious, and artistic developments in the medieval West and in Byzantium from the end of the Roman Empire until the early modern period and will also address processes of manufacture, issues of materiality, the relationship between text and image, and the performative aspect of the book in its wide range of functions. Instructor: Nino Zchomelidse, [email protected]
(MICA) CWRT 281.01 Writing Children’s Picture Books
Students will analyze children’s books, read with children, emulate specific authors, rework an old story, and develop original stories. Text and illustration in published picture books will be discussed. Ideally, students will conclude the semester with a manuscript ready for illustration. Instructor: Amy Eisner, [email protected]
(MICA) GD 5677.01 Letterpress Books and Printing
Students will work with letterpress printing, from both digital plates and movable type, and produce multi-page and editioned works. *Graduate graphic design students only. Instructor: Robert Cicero, [email protected]
(MICA) GFA 305.01 Mixed Media Book
This course focuses on a variety of contemporary book forms, with freedom to develop content. Students will experiment with scale, sculptural, installation, materials, relationship between book form and materials. Additionally, the course explores traced monoprints, paper cutting, wet/dry media, embroidery drawing, alternative surfaces, and dipped paper encaustics for transparent books. Instructor: Stephanie Garmey, [email protected]
(MICA) LIT 307-TH.01 The Nature of the Book
This course examines the recent literature concerning the emergence of print culture since the introduction of moveable print to Western Europe in the 15th century. Particular themes and issues explored will include the relationship of the new media of the printed book to the existing media of orality and manuscript and the evolving nature of reading practices. Instructor: D. Alan Orr
(MICA) PR 294.01 Papermaking and Book Structure
This course will focus on the historical beginnings of the codex and handmade paper. Focusing on both Eastern and Western tradition in papermaking and bookbinding, this course familiarizes students with the practicality of the materials, tools, and techniques used in both processes. Students develop an understanding of basic elements for constructing books. Sophomores and juniors only. Instructor: Gail Deery
(Goucher) ENG 241 The Archaeology of the Text
This interdisciplinary English course uses hands-on “laboratory” methods to introduce students to archival research using Goucher’s Rare Book Collection and online digital archives. Working backward in time, from the present to the Early Modern and Medieval periods, the course will survey ways people have packaged and used written/visual information, from digital media to early printed books to manuscripts. Instructor: Arnie Sanders, [email protected]
(Goucher) ENG 335 Jane Austen and Her Readers
Enduring popular as well as critically praised, the novels of Jane Austen have intrigued and inspired readers from her day through ours. This course will make extensive hands-on use of Goucher’s Jane Austen Collection in order to explore changing responses to her writings; film adaptations will part of our study as well. *Junior standing or permission of instructor. Instructor: Juliette Wells, [email protected]
The exhibitions listed below were developed and presented in the orbit of Book Arts Baltimore between 2015 and 2017. They featured student art works and student curation, medieval manuscripts and contemporary letterpress, historical editions and cutting edge book objects—a feast of books + art.
Off the Shelf: Modern & Contemporary Artists’ Books
March 12 – June 25, 2017
May Galleries, Baltimore Museum of Art
Off the Shelf will feature a selection of more than 100 artists’ books and related prints from the BMA’s superlative collection of late 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. The exhibition is the capstone of a collaborative project between the BMA and The Johns Hopkins University led by Rena M. Hoisington, Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs.
Fore-Edge Books
Anticipated Fall/Winter 2017
Loyola-Notre Dame Library Gallery
The exhibition is comprised of fore-edge books from the Loyola-Notre Dame collection. For more information, contact Anna Clarkson.
From Movable Type to Artists’ Books: Selections from UMBC’s Special Collections
Winter 2017
UMBC Library Gallery
In celebration of books and their history, volumes will be selected from UMBC’s Special Collections by students, faculty, and staff. Each person will write a short statement explaining why he or she selected the book and about the importance of the volume.
Fertile Ground: Artists Respond to a Collective Geography
January 20 – March 12, 2017
Opening reception January 27, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Pinkard Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art
A collaboration with the Decker Library and MICA Book Arts. In Spring 2016, Decker Library invited students from MICA’s Book Arts courses to create an artist book based on materials from the library’s collections. This exhibition results from that collaboration.
The students were challenged to select and respond to something from the library collections, to create a book art project that made sense in terms of their artistic practice and the requirements of the particular course in which they were enrolled, and to compose an artist statement about their work. MICA faculty partners and their courses were Isabel Lederman (Artists’ Books: Visual Poetry and Artists’ Publications), Gail Deery (History of Paper Structure), and Stephanie Garmey (Mixed Media Book).
Photographs and Text: The Art of the Narrative
December 8, 2016 – February 26, 2017
Reading Room, Evergreen Museum & Library
In the tradition of the illuminated manuscript—text supplemented by metal leaf and polychrome borders, miniature illustrations, and stylized fonts—this collective photo exhibition explores the relationship between word and image. Original prints merge photographs and text to creatively tell stories about objects drawn from the Johns Hopkins collections. The installation is the culmination of an undergraduate course taught in the Johns Hopkins Center for Visual Arts in Fall 2016 by photography instructor Phyllis Berger and book artist Betty Sweren.
The Enigmatic Edgar A. Poe in Baltimore & Beyond
October 4, 2016 – February 5, 2017
The George Peabody Gallery
What did Edgar Allan Poe’s tales and poems mean to readers in his own time? How did he master so many forms of literature—and invent exciting new varieties, from science fiction to the detective story? Meet the enigmatic Edgar A. Poe: a man who lived in the real world, but tried to write his way out of it. This exhibition of rare materials gives viewers the chance to see Poe at work, up close: “The Raven” in Poe’s own handwriting, first editions of Poe’s writings in books, newspapers, and magazines from the 1800s, and examples of the translations, illustrations, comic books, and portraits that have helped extend Poe’s global popularity.
THinkUP – Baltimore Voices in Print
November 29, 2016 – January 20, 2017
Maryland Institute College of Art, 1515 Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD
Funded by an Arts Innovation Grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this exhibit represents a collaborative initiative of The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, Dolphin Press & Print at MICA, and Writers in Baltimore Schools. They have brought together multiple generations of poets to explore the intersection of poetry, book arts, letterpress printing, design, illustration, and community engagement.
A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe
October 16, 2016 – January 8, 2017
The Walters Art Museum
The art of medieval Europe—luminous stained glass windows, church bells with their mesmerizing sounds, and tapestries depicting fragrant gardens—stirred the senses. This international loan exhibition brings together more than 100 paintings, tapestries, metalwork, manuscripts, and prints from museums in the United States and abroad, including masterpieces from the Walters’ collection.
Emma in America
August 25, 2015 – June 20, 2016
Fourth Floor, Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum, Goucher College
To celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Emma, the Goucher College Library will host Emma in America: Jane Austen’s Novel through Two Centuries. The exhibit will spotlight one of the treasures of its world-class Jane Austen Collection: the very rare first American edition of Emma, published in Philadelphia in 1816. The exhibit tells the fascinating story of how and why this novel came to be printed in America—without Austen’s knowledge—only months after the first English edition was released.
The exhibit also traces the eventful history of Goucher’s particular copy—one of only six known to exist—and introduces viewers to its distinguished owners, who include the Countess of Dalhousie and the English poet Siegfried Sassoon, as well as Goucher alumna and collector Alberta Hirshheimer Burke. A gallery of illustrations and cover art from historical and modern editions of Emma from over a dozen countries completes the exhibit.
The Reading Room
May 13, 2016 – May 16, 2016
Decker Library, Maryland Institute College of Art
Friday, May 13, 11:00 a.m. – 8:oo p.m.
Saturday, May 14, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 15, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, May 16, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Organized by Gail Deery, Professor, Printmaking Department and Co- Director of Dolphin Press & Print, Maryland Institute College of Art with the Printmaking Department Senior Class: William Chapman, Amine Ciuba, Ariell Elza, Gabriella Grill, Alexandra Harmel, Rebecca Herr, Claudia Heitner, Jovana Ivezic, Dasom Kim, Jerry Pirolli, Isabel Rosen-Hamilton, Terron Sorrells, Roman Wuzhere.
The Reading Room is a group installation consisting of artists’ books, prints, objects and paper ephemera. The unique and editioned works comment on how information and research is acquired through visual communication, assumptions, observations and readings. Thus creating a new framework to improve our lives or alter our environments.
Henry Walters, Léon Gruel, and the Reinvention of the Medieval Manuscript
October 7, 2015 – April 17, 2016
Fourth Floor, within the installation From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story, The Walters Art Museum
In the 1870s, famed Parisian bookseller and bookbinder Léon Gruel set out to create a modern medieval masterpiece—a book that would capture the illuminated manuscripts of ages past and reproduce their beauty in vibrant color through the new technology of color printing called chromolithography. This exhibition explores the popularity of democratizing medieval manuscripts in the 19th century and Henry Walters’ role as a collector of books for a contemporary audience.
Outside the Margins: Contemporary Artists’ Books
February 22–April 3, 2016
Loyola-Notre Dame Library, 200 Winston Ave., Baltimore, MD 21212
A juried show of artists’ books from the region. Reception: Thursday, March 17, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. with a brief talk about the St. John’s Bible at 6:30 p.m.
Outside the Margins: Artists’ Books from the Betty and Edgar Sweren Collection
February 15 – April 3, 2016
Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University Maryland is pleased to host work from the Sweren collection of over 900 artists’ books. Among the artists included in the exhibit are Paul Johnson, Ken Campbell, Ron King, Clare Van Vliet, calligrapher Susan Allix, and Carol Schwartzott. Reception: Thursday, February 18, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., Betty Sweren will speak about the collection.
topo(log) typo(log)
November 12-December 19, 2015
Institute of Contemporary Art Baltimore at The George Peabody Library, 17 W. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD, 21202
topo(log) typo(log), is a series of six books documenting artist Lu Zhang’s yearlong studio residency at the George Peabody Library. Opening reception, Thursday, November 12, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Artist talk, Saturday, December 12, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The programs listed here are a sampling of those organized by BAB participants, often jointly, and speak to the range of topics embraced by the field of book arts.
April 3, 2017, 3:00 p.m.
Suzanne Moore, Dynamic Collaboration: One Painter’s Perspective
Loyola: Loyola-Notre Dame Library Auditorium
Suzanne Moore will talk about and show images of other artists’ work as well as focusing on a few of the thirteen interpretive illuminations and special treatments she painted for the Saint John’s Bible.
The lecture will be followed by viewing the facsimile of the St. John’s Bible in the permanent collection of the Loyola-Notre Dame Library.
Suzanne Moore, who lives on Vashon Island, is a lettering artist, printmaker, and painter whose eclectic interests fuse in the diversity of her artists’ books. Her books blend distinctive design, color use, and surface treatments with textual content and contemporary lettering to create work that obscures the line between word and image, legibility and abstraction. Ms. Moore is one of the artist illuminators that worked on the St. John’s Bible. Her manuscript and edition books have been acquired for private and public collections and she teaches in the U.S. and Europe.
Presented by the Fine Arts Department, Loyola University Maryland, Loyola-Notre Dame Library.
April 1, 2016
MICA: Third Annual Edible Books Festival
April 1, 2016, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The Book and the Bog: Discovery and Conservation of the Faddan More Psalter
JHU: Hodson Hall Room 213
This lecture by John Gillis, Senior Manuscript Conservator, Trinity College Dublin, will tell the story of the discovery of the Faddan More Psalter and its recovery from the bog, examine the contents of the manuscript and its binding, and describe the innovative methodologies devised by the conservation team to, among other things, dismantle and de-water the textblock.
March 31 – April 2, 2016
March 31, 7:00 p.m.
Lecture by internationally renowned pop-up book artist Paul Johnson
Loyola: McGuire Hall, College Center
Free and open to all, no tickets necessary, reception following the lecture.
April 1, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Pop-Up Book Workshop 1 with Paul Johnson
Loyola: College Center M008
April 2, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Pop-Up Book Workshop 2 with Paul Johnson
Loyola: College Center M008
Paul Johnson is a successful book artist with work in the collections of the Tate Gallery, London, the Cooper-Hewett Museum in New York, the National Gallery, the Library of Congress, Washington DC, and many U.S. universities including UCLA, Berkeley, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Yale and Harvard. Dr. Johnson has an international reputation for his pioneering work in developing literacy through the book arts.
March 31, 2016, 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Read It and Eat It: The Third Annual Sheridan Libraries Edible Book Festival JHU: Glass Pavilion
Love literature? Love bizarre desserts? Then you will love Sheridan Libraries’ Third Annual Edible Book Festival. Enter a literary dessert for a chance to win a prize.
March 10, 2016, 5:15 p.m.
Johns Hopkins University, Homewood campus, Brody Learning Commons, Macksey Room
The Culture of Revolution: Russian and Soviet Materials in the Sheridan Libraries’ Special Collections
Jeffrey Brooks, Department of History, JHU, “The Visual Turn in Russian Culture, 1900-1930.”
Ann Eakin Moss, Humanities Center, JHU, “Subversive Books in the Soviet Union.”
February 14, 2016, 2:00 p.m.
George Peabody Library, 17 E. Mt. Vernon Place, Baltimore
John Barth Loves Us: A Valentine to Fiction
Writers Rafael Alvarez, Madison Smartt Bell, Matt Porterfield, Rosalia Scalia, and Jason Tinney present readings and a roundtable discussion of contemporary fiction, in conjunction with the exhibition Lost & Found in the Funhouse: The John Barth Collection.
February 11, 2016, 6:00 p.m.
Johns Hopkins University, Homewood campus, Special Collections Reading Room
Dirty Books & Longing Looks
A Valentine’s Day display of romantic, erotic, amorous, coquettish, and bewitching materials from the library’s collections.
February 2, 2016, 5:00 p.m.
Gaining/Losing Control: The Artist and the Book Format
JHU: Mason Hall
Lecture by Stephen Bury, Art Reference Library, Frick Collection, New York; reception to follow. Johns Hopkins University, co-sponsored by the Program in Museums and Society and the Sheridan Libraries Winston Tabb Special Collections Research Center, with support of a grant to Museums and Society by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
November 9, 2015, 5:15 p.m
Faculty in Focus Lecture
JHU Sheridan Libraries: Macksey Seminar Room 2043, Brody Learning Commons
Sharon Achinstein, Sir William Osler Professor of English at Johns Hopkins University discusses “John Milton and Medea: Passion as Politics.”
October 26, 2015, 5:15 p.m.
Collections in Focus Lecture
JHU Sheridan Libraries: Macksey Seminar Room 2043, Brody Learning Commons
Nicholas Smith, from the Victoria & Albert Museum Archive, discusses “An Actor’s Library: David Garrick, Book Collecting and Literary Friendships.”
October 15, 2015
Goucher: Michael Suarez Lecture
October 7, 2015, 5:15 p.m.
Faculty in Focus Lecture and Book Launch
JHU Sheridan Libraries: Macksey Seminar Room 2043, Brody Learning Commons
Elizabeth Archibald, Visiting Teaching Professor at the Peabody Institute presents “Ask the Past: Learning from the George Peabody Library,” in conjunction with the launch of Professor Archibald’s new book, Ask the Past: Pertinent and Impertinent Advice from Yesteryear (Hachette, 2015).
