The College Book Art Association is holding its Annual Meeting at Scripps College on January 9-10, 2015. Denison Library includes in its collection many artist books produced by members of the College Book Art Association. Therefore the students in the Core III course, “The Artist Book as an Agent of Social Change,” will have the opportunity to act as jurors for the member’s Exhibit. They will be encouraged to select those books which exhibit advocacy whenever possible, in order to make connections to the theme of the class. But they will also include books by CBAA members that exhibit characteristics from all ten genres of artist books as detailed by Johanna Drucker in her book, The Century of Artist’s Books.
In addition to the CBAA Member’s books, included in the exhibit will be books form three significant periods in artist book history: the 1913 book by Blaise Cendars/Sonia Delaunay (in facsimile form), the 1960s books by Ed Ruscha, and the late 20th and early 21st century books by Ken Campbell (both letterpress and digital). These are the books that are the focus of the CBAA Annual Meeting.
The exhibit will be designed and installed by Professor Maryatt’s students. A catalog written and produced by the students will contain thoughtful and knowledgeable essays analyzing the books, supported by their experiences in discussing the issues of the day in the Core Curriculum. A DVD showcasing the books in the exhibition with additional commentary about historical influences, will be produced by the students. The opening reception for the exhibition will be coordinated with the Frederic W. Goudy Lecture sponsored by the Scripps College Press.