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Magic Paper/ Magic Book:
Chicago Public Library They have committed art by paper. Among the evidence are also assorted animal parts, fabricated keys, counterfeit coinage and writings. The body of evidence is on public display in a number of glass cases on the ninth floor exhibit room of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 South State Street, from May 15th-November 7th. When paper is mentioned the immediate association which springs to mind is ink, printing and writing ink; or a support for art; or, secondarily, as a material for containers, be they envelopes or boxes. One must pause and give some thought before other uses come to mind. Paper has its own history and thus... connotations. "Abecedarium," an artist's alphabet book exhibition, which visited the Newberry Library earlier this year, was of immense interest in the various ways that artists played with and against paper's association with the alphabet and the book. "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" is engaging because, in it, paper and book artists expand further into the realm of art object, and artists schooled in other media join with them in exploring both paper and often conventions of the codex, with richly interesting results. "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" does prompt serious thought about what particular and unique features, beyond the historic links with the alphabet and 'works on paper,' does paper in itself offer as a full art medium in the future? Earlier, paper and papier mache have served artists as manageable sculptural substitutes for more intractable media, particularly in preliminary maquettes, or as a means toward building relief or in embossing. Increasingly contemporary artists, in tandem with an increased experimentalism and daring among papermakers, have taken handmade paper to their creations. Works by Lucas Samaras and Robert Rauschenberg (to name only two), however, still seem bound to some alphabetic or art print association, playing with, or even 'deconstructing' that legacy. One views works like "Roan (Pages and Fuses)" or "Scow (Pages and Fuses)" by Robert Rauschenberg and finds, however novel, a contemporary print -- and the page and alphabetic legacy lingers as subtext. It is still true in approaching many book and paper artists, like Vance Studley, who seek to expand out of tradition. An excellent companion to "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" would be Vance Studley's The Art and Craft of Handmade Paper (Dover: 1990), which illustrates several innovative paper pieces, Rauschenberg's and Studley's among them, and which is currently in print. The volume lends an appreciation for much of the skill and ingenuity which the artists of "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" have conjured up in executing their inspirations.
A number of pieces in "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" do make obeisance to tradition, both Western and Asian. "Spiritland" by Margaret Prentice is a gratifying work in which woodcut printing and letterpress are harmonized on handmade paper. Her visual expression is kindred to the dramatic strokework of Vincent van Gogh and results in a piece where execution and content form a highly effective unity. A number of artists in "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" extend the codex format directly into a sculptural assemblage as art object. The book concept is played against in the imagination of the viewer. Robbin Ami Silverberg's "From Dreams to Ashes" (1999) is a striking example. Its constituent parts are mugwort papers, abaca, matches and photos: photos of a child in reverie interleaf the handmade paper leafs, but at the fore-edge of this book object, wooden matches spike outward toward viewing space. The title is not a description, but an anticipation. "The Deputy Sheriff" (1997) by Mary Ellen Matthews is fashioned from (yes!) boot and hemp; and follows the technique of coptic binding. The latter is particularly suited to facilitating 'openability,' and the boot/cover boards would seem to demand it. The contents are a memoir of a grandmother, abundantly rich in incident and settler experience. This is the piece which the Special Collections Exhibition foldout guide used as its cover illustration. Incidently, if any demurral can be made about the exhibition, it is that one would really wished to have available a catalogue or publication treating the items more extensively. The exhibition certainly merits it. "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" does offer some excellent 'concertina' (accordion) bindings. "The Real World of Manuel Cordova" (1995) by Carolee Campbell is an admirable example. It is a large concertina-fold scroll with a coordinated handmade case. The scroll has a brown onionskin-like quality and this enhances the artist's pen and brush work. Maria G. Pisano's "Snake" (1998) constitutes a double concertina scroll, and it is a clever and skillfully integrated piece. It is well to mention that since this exhibition is by members of the Guild of Book workers and the Friends of Dard Hunter (who was a central figure in exploring and advancing papermaking) anyone who earlier visited the "Abecedarium" exhibition will notice some familiar names. Both shows were juried and one can compare new works with "Abecedarium" entries. That show was hosted by the Newberry Library and reviewed earlier in artscope.net There are entries in "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" which pass the truly conceptual: some are even physical plays of sheer wit. Peggy Johnston is represented by "Pelenore's Pocketbook" (1997) which is an assemblage from purple kid leather, mixed paper, thread, lace and counterfeits of keys and fancied coins. It is a whimsy. (When is a book not a book... ? Well... ) I confess that I was left uncertain -- The Arthurian Pelinore of E.B.White? The Pellenore of J.R.R.Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? The Medieval Saint? I delighted in the object, but a mention of its referent would have been welcome. Again, this exhibition deserves an accompanying brochure: something more complete than a foldout flyer. "Escaping Water" (1998) by Jill Reinhold Jarom, constructed of wood and abaca, crosses into the directly sculptural sensu lato and intimates directions for the paper arts to come. At the far of viewer's gaze is a branch-net sluice, from which, toward the case front, the airy representation of water spills forth. It is a effect which utilizes some of the particular capabilities of paper. And it, like Diannel Reeves's "Opinionated Proclamation", offer some indications of where 'paper magic' might be unveiling a new avenue for object art. "Opinionated Proclamation" (1995) is by Diannel Reeves. It is constructed from sennit, abaca, cow horns and emu feather. It immediately struck me as a overly-caffeinated soul bursting into a storm of dialectics. The cow horns, split lengthwise and orchestrated symmetrically, give the impression of an gapping avian beak, above and to the back of which, be they hackles or horns, further horn blades flare up. It is a really effective piece. "Magic Paper/ Magic Book" offers a wide variety of well-crafted, clever and creative works of paper and book art. More than a single notice could hope to do justice. Although the ninth floor of the Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, is not the most heavily travelled venue, one will be able to fully enjoy this exhibition there. It runs until November 7, 1999. Several associated events are scheduled in conjunction with "Magic Paper/ Magic Book." One may telephone: Center for the Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College [Chicago, Il.] at 312/ 431-8612. And if one gains an interest in Dard Hunter, his exhaustive Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft (Dover: 1978) is still in print. --G. Jurek Polanski Jurek Polanski has previously written and art edited for Strong Coffee in Chicago. He's also well known and respected among the Chicago museums and galleries. Jurek is currently a Visual Arts Correspondent for ArtScope.net. |
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