September 8, 2013 Horizon, the Guild of Book Workers Exhibit

This morning I took some time to drive over to the University of Denver library which is hosting an exhibit, Horizon, of artist books created by the Guild of Book Workers. The 53 artists represented have interpreted the theme, “horizon,” on a large variety of ways.  The show was presented in glassed in cases spread throughout DU’s wonderful library.

Madelyn Garrett’s The Dream of Perpetual Motion was beautiful in its use of copper leaf boards with windows for the images bordered with inset brass-leafed edging and the old world quality of its illustrations.

Whimsical and nostalgic, Sue Collard’s Interior Landscape skillfully coordinated the use of salvaged lumber for the pages with  a carved recess for a meniscus lens and illustrations that alluded to books of old anatomical drawings.  

I liked the playful quality of Emily Tipps’ The Heart’s Horizon: A Refutation with its oval translucent pages spilling out in all directions.  The photo of this piece on the show announcement was what motivated my seeing the exhibit.

Fe-O, the symbol for iron oxide is a collaboration between Sammy Lee and JongKu Kim, an artist who creates works from iron filings reduced from a solid form. The work with its stone embedded in stacked landscapes, corked specimen tube, translucent cylinder and enigmatic image in its open door provides a wonderful mystery for contemplation.

There were so many other imaginative and successful books treatments but lighting and reflections made many too difficult to photograph.