Diane Worth, “Pear Book”
December 2, 2005 – January 13, 2006
Martin Antonetti, Curator of Rare Books at Smith College juried this wondrful exhibtion. Mr. Antonetti selected 20 works by 14 New England based artists for the exhibition. Artists included in the exhibit are: Meredith Broberg, Valerie Carrigan, Liz Chalfin, Nancy Diessner, Anita S. Hunt, Louise Kohrman, O. Kline, Veronica Morgan, Emily Orzech, Amaryllis Siniossoglou, Claudia Sperry, C. David Thomas, Alison Williams, and Diane Kazar Worth.
Mr. Antonetti states: “Humorous or haunting, bursting with energy, each of the books in this exhibition presents its own kind of “visual literature” in which language and image are used and juxtaposed in a way that extends and enhances the meaning of both. You’ll see a wonderful mixture of word and picture magic, a strange mind geometry not found in any other media, and an imaginative and esoteric architecture holding it all together. These artist’s books are explorations of the domain of the book: a highly-charged meeting ground between literature, printmaking and applied arts, where technical skill and the ability to develop literary and visual content are combined in the same crucible.”
3rd Annual Artists’ Books Exhibition presents viewers with the rare opportunity to handle the books. Artist’s books are usually displayed in closed cases and actually “reading” them is not possible. At Zea Mays, visitors are invited to take the books off the shelves and explore them fully at their own pace. The exhibit showcases a broad range of interpretations of the artist’s book, from contemporary expressions to more traditional structures, with the common denominator being that each of the books incorporates printmaking. Some of the books are built around textual narratives or poems, while others are purely visual experiences.