By Zoë Van Dyke (Exhibition Curator)
The artists’ books highlighted in the current exhibition in the foyer of the Fine Arts Library are united by their place of publication. Each of these books was published here in Bloomington, Indiana, between 1966-2010. The creators of these books vary greatly: from IU students, faculty, and staff, to community members, workshops, and specific Indiana University classes (like Against the Grain: M333, Fall 2010). When I chose these books from the Fine Arts Library’s collection of artist’s books, I tried to pay particular attention to diversity. I selected authors whose work exemplified the plethora of difference present in the IU community: students and faculty who took part in the Collins Living / Learning program, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, visiting and former faculty members, and alumni / ae from all over the world who speak a myriad of languages.
Like the diversity of their authors, the books’ size, shape, text, image, and topic also take on a myriad of forms. Some of these artists’ books are connected directly to the Indiana University campus, the larger Bloomington community, Monroe County, or the state of Indiana as a whole. Others, like Love Letters by Daniela Panigada, focus on relationships which people build with one another, whether amorous or amicable. Yara Ferreira Cluver’s 6.1.1999 narrates a mother’s letter to her child, while Kate Ferrucci’s Limestone Lives: Voices from the Indiana Stone Belt, depicts the working lives of Indiana quarrymen. Some artist’s books recount stories of folklore and fantasy, like Becky Harmon’s interpretation of Anansi and the Turtle, while others relate poetry (as in Lou Suarez’s Counting Sheep) or discuss the creative process like Soontira Sutanant’s beautifully made Steps of a Design Process.
Ultimately, the books in this exhibition are a testament to the creative spirit, the cultivation of knowledge, and the sharing of ideas, which a university setting, like that of IU, fosters within the community at large.
Pictured: in the front, Daniela Panigada’s Love Letters (2007), and behind, Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, edited and printed by Natalie Freeman (2000)