Many of us have known Hannah Freiser as a past Director of Light Work, the very long-running (since 1972) and well-regarded artist's residency for photographers, based at Syracuse University. Hannah is known for her deep knowledge of what is happening in the contemporary photography world but also, and this is more unusual, her experience with (and love of) photo-based artists' books. Many years ago she studied with Susan kae Grant at Texas Woman's University in Denton TX and I am sure that this is the source of her refreshingly open view of what a photobookwork can be.
In January Hannah started as the new Executive Director for The Center for Photography at Woodstock, (CPW) a long running photo gallery and center in Woodstock NY. It was originally started in Woodstock by Howie Greenberg and Michael Feinberg in 1977 and for many years run with an iron fist by the Kenyon sisters. When I worked as part of the Open Studio Print Shop, a non-profit artists' print shop in Rhinebeck NY in the early 1980s, we printed all of CPW's show invitations, their Center Quarterly, and the occasional poster. One beautiful tritone poster we printed was for a show of Kenro Izu's work. We also printed show invitations and other material for Howie's Howard Greenberg Gallery which he started in Woodstock, and later moved to New York City and is now one of the major photo galleries in Manhattan.
As her inaugural show at the Center, Hannah decided to curate and mount a show called Welcome: Page by Page. The show ran from February 20th and closed a couple of weeks ago, on April 10, 2016. The show "showcases artist books by an international cadre of photographers. The exhibition examines the art form of the small-edition book as a poignant expression of personal vision. CPW invites the viewer to come to the relaxed setting of the newly updated gallery and engage directly with the art. The viewer is encouraged to handle the highly collectible and sometimes fragile books. The books on display range in topic from a courageous self-examination in the face of cancer to the whimsical exploration of disposable cups. Two artists explores dreams, another finds global truth in the exploration of international travel, while yet another mourns the disappearance of her father-in-law." Freiser included my book Sanctus Sonorensis. It is great that this show exhibited the book works in a way that allowed viewers to handle and turn the pages of the books, the way they are meant to be viewed.
Some of the other artists included in the show were Keith Smith, Scott McCarney, Susan kae Grant, Raymond Meeks, Nate Larson, Marnie Shindelman, Ron Jude and Erika Diettes, among others.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
CBAA National Conference in Nashville, TN
January 5th through 7th, 2016, Karen and I attended the National Conference of the College Book Art Association, hosted by Vanderbilt and a number of other universities in the Nashville, TN area. Cindy Marsh was the primary organizer but had the considerable help of Kathy O'Connell and Annie Herlocker.
I had not been to Nashville before and enjoyed a cultural tour that included Hatch Show Print and a number of other remarkable resources including the Main Public Library.
I gave a lecture at a panel that was organized by Warren Lehrer that was called Improving the Quality of Narrative Text in Artists' Book Classes. This is the title slide:
I talked about how our Creative Writing and Poetry programs at the University of Arizona have developed deep ties to our own Visual Arts MFA program.
I also had two of my books, Celsius 233 and Reaper, selected by a blind jury for inclusion in a concurrent show at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts at Vanderbilt University.
On our last day there, Sunday, Cindy took us, along with her husband and Rebecca Chamlee, to a great brunch place called Pinewood Social. Attached to the restaurant area was a beautiful old bowling alley. Along the side of the bowling lanes was a wall with lots of old paint cans with amusing labels, all lined up to make an eye-catching installation.
We had some amazing meals during our visit and discovered what a foodie center Nashville has become for the South.
I had not been to Nashville before and enjoyed a cultural tour that included Hatch Show Print and a number of other remarkable resources including the Main Public Library.
I gave a lecture at a panel that was organized by Warren Lehrer that was called Improving the Quality of Narrative Text in Artists' Book Classes. This is the title slide:
I talked about how our Creative Writing and Poetry programs at the University of Arizona have developed deep ties to our own Visual Arts MFA program.
I also had two of my books, Celsius 233 and Reaper, selected by a blind jury for inclusion in a concurrent show at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts at Vanderbilt University.
On our last day there, Sunday, Cindy took us, along with her husband and Rebecca Chamlee, to a great brunch place called Pinewood Social. Attached to the restaurant area was a beautiful old bowling alley. Along the side of the bowling lanes was a wall with lots of old paint cans with amusing labels, all lined up to make an eye-catching installation.
We had some amazing meals during our visit and discovered what a foodie center Nashville has become for the South.
Monday, April 25, 2016
A quick catch-up on activities.
It's been a while since I updated this blog, and I have had a nagging guilt about not getting it together and being a little more professional about being current. So I am going to try to be better with staying up-to-date. In the next week or so I will try to add a number of posts about recent and upcoming activities.
Since my last post, I did go to Reno and the University of Nevada. This was at the beginning of November, 2015.
Thanks to a kind invitation from Inge Bruggeman, I gave a lecture and attended the reception for a retrospective show of Spaceheater Editions work there. The photo above shows Karen, me and Inge. Here are few photos from the show:
As you can see, the show contained many of the books that I have published under the Spaceheater Editions imprint, and not just my own work.
Since my last post, I did go to Reno and the University of Nevada. This was at the beginning of November, 2015.
Thanks to a kind invitation from Inge Bruggeman, I gave a lecture and attended the reception for a retrospective show of Spaceheater Editions work there. The photo above shows Karen, me and Inge. Here are few photos from the show:
As you can see, the show contained many of the books that I have published under the Spaceheater Editions imprint, and not just my own work.
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