E X H I B I T I O N
Raised Ink
Fine & Dirty: Contemporary
Letterpress Art
Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 8 - October 16,2011
mnbookarts.org
The Center for Book Arts
New York, New York
January 18 - March 31
centerforbookarts.org
r e v i e w
b y
Christy D eSm ith
Harriet Bart
Plumb Bob,
2009
brass, aluminum,
Masonite, wood, steel,
gasket cloth, paper
11.75
X 6.5 X 1.5 in.
Above and opposite:
Gaylord Schanilec
Sylvae,
2008
oak board binding,
letterpress, relief prints,
wood specimens
15.6 x 10.5 x 2.4 in.
Left:
Inge Bruggeman
Unable to Find
Each Other, Let Alone
Ourselves,
2007
letterpress, pochoir,
pencil, watercolor,
thread; 15 x 8.5 x 1 in.
“ t o d a y t h e f i n e p r e s s b o o k
is thriving.”
These words, painted on
the wall, greeted visitors to
“Fine & Dirty: Contemporary
Letterpress Art,” a touring
exhibition of 50-some books,
dioramas, and a smattering of
other print media, at the Min-
nesota Center for Book Arts.
How does this special kind of
book manage to prosper, even
in the digital era? As the wall text
continues, it suggests the artist-
made book is imbued with the
same sensory qualities as a hand-
made necklace or pot - because
the fine press book derives not
from literature but from “the
properties and pleasures of craft.”
This statement from co-
curators Betty Bright and Jeff
Rathermel invites constant
comparisons, perhaps inadver-
tently. With each object in the
exhibition, you can’t help but
wonder: Is it closer to a book -
perhaps a new, more adaptive
breed to propagate the print
species? Or is it more like craft -
with its hand-stitched Japanese
bindings and fabric inlays?
The answer is obvious in
some cases, as with
Light Blue
Sun Hat
(2010) by Diane Jacobs,
a wide-brimmed headpiece
woven entirely from delicate
strips of paper with phrases like
“business girl” and “fallen woman”
printed on letterpress.
The exhibition also includes
some cheeky postcard swaps
from Ladies of Letterpress,
a membership organization
for international printmakers;
there are also a couple of bro-
chure-like pieces with die-cuts
and accordion folds. But the
show’s most compelling objects
(and the overwhelming major-
ity) are unmistakable in their
pedigree: They take after hard-
covers. Sometimes they dance
between language and design.
Ken Campbell’s book
Dominion
(2002) features layered phrases
in letterpress, which renders
them unreadable. Didier Mutel’s
take on
The Strange Case of Dr.
JekyllandMr. Hyde
(1994) has
038 american craft feb/mari2
S y lva e
photos: Gaylord Schanilec /
P lu m b
photo: Rik Sferra /
U nable
photo: Bill M orrison /
T ru e
photo: Sibila Savage
