New exhibition featuring artists’ books celebrates the versatility of the form

Artists’ books are works of artistic expression that utilize the book form as canvas. The works on display range from a fold-out miniature octagonal locket by contemporary book artist Tia Blassingame to Debra Magpie Earling’s imagined photo journal of Sacajewea, the Lemhi Soshone woman credited with assisting the expendition of the early19th-century explorers Lewis and Clark.

 

“Unfolding Events” was co-curated by Bill Landis, teaching and research services librarian. and Jessica Pigza, associate director of Haas Library’s special collections.

 

“Some artists’ books draw on primary source documents to create rich, deeply resonated work,” Pigza told Mike Cummings in an interview for Yale News. “Others are personal to the artists, recording their memories, experiences, and perspectives.”

 

Join book artists Tia Blassingame and Maureen Cummins in conversation about their creative careers and collaboration on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 4 pm in Beinecke Library. A pop-up display of these two artists’ books will be on display in advance of the discussion, which begins at 5 pm.

 

Read about the “Five Things to Know” about the exhibition in the article in Yale News.

 

—Deborah Cannarella