Books in Minnesota: Special Exhibitions

Pablo Picasso: Livres d’Artistes

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:12:10 -0600

Internationally celebrated as a painter and sculptor, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was also an innovative and prolific printmaker, producing more than 2,500 original etchings, aquatints, lithographs, and relief prints during his long career. Among this remarkable graphic oeuvre are hundreds of prints and illustrations designed specifically for collaborative book projects. Picasso produced images for more than one hundred livres d’artistes—deluxe, limited-edition illustrated books—between 1905 and 1972, the year he turned 91 years old. Selected from the MIA’s extensive permanent collection of graphic art, this exhibition showcases more than a dozen of Picasso’s greatest livres d’artistes, with texts ranging from Aristophanes to Tristan Tzara.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis

May 24 - November 23, 2008

Face the Nation: How National Identity Shaped Modern Typeface Design

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:48:13 -0600

Co-presented by Minnesota Center for Book Arts and the University of St. Thomas, this historical exhibition investigates how the desire to reinforce, redefine or transcend national identities shaped the design of typefaces between 1900 and 1960, an era of two world wars and unprecedented cultural transition; also "the last great era of metal type." The exhibition includes a number of case studies, showing original printed examples, historical curiosities and objects from the printing trade.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Open Book Building
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415

July 12 through September 21, 2008

For a coordinate web site see http://www.stthomas.edu/facethenation/.

Altered Books

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:10:24 -0600

"What happens to a book when it outlives its purpose on the shelf? If it falls into the right hands, it is transformed into an art object that may or may not resemble its original form as a book. An altered book is any book, old or new, that has been recycled by creative means into a work of art. Works created by national and international artists, college students, community members and Minneapolis youth will be exhibited at galleries throughout Minneapolis from January through March 2008."

Minneapolis Central Library
Cargill Gallery, 2nd floor
300 Nicollet Mall
January 12 - March 30, 2008

For related exhibitions see Arts at MPL.

The Exquisite Book: The International Library by Helmut Löhr, et al.

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:36:06 -0600

"The Exquisite Book features selections from Helmut Löhr’s ongoing project, The International Library. For this project, Löhr created a series of altered books with their torn pages on the outside and their covers on the inside, and sent them to a number of artist-collaborators around the globe who were charged with further transforming them and returning them to Löhr. The Exquisite Book features collaborations with such internationally renowned artists as Lawrence Weiner, Buzz Spector, and Doug Beube. Also featured are several Twin Cities-based artists including James Conaway, Harriet Bart, and Nancy Randall.

"The Exquisite Book considers these objects in the contexts of both book art and collaborative art practices. The production of handmade and altered books became an important part of an alternative art world in the 1960s. Mail art, characterized by the transferring of works by post, and collaborative art were closely related experimental practices. The International Library is an example of the intersection of these creative and social impulses.

"The Exquisite Book is presented in conjunction with area altered-book workshops, exhibitions, and programs in spring 2008, including an altered-book exhibition at the Central branch of the Minneapolis Public Library, and the Public Library Association’s annual conference, to be held this year in Minneapolis."

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
333 East River Road, Minneapolis
December 8, 2007 - March 30, 2008

The Map that Named America: 1507—2007

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:39:45 -0600

"A public exhibit of rare, original documents related to early travel, including the James Ford Bell Library’s original 1507 Waldseemüller gores globe, the first map to include the word 'America.' 2007 is the 500th birthday of the Waldseemüller globe, created by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller and printed from an engraved woodblock to depict newly-discovered lands in the western Atlantic. The map’s details were drawn from sailors’ charts and other documents, including the popular account of explorer Amerigo Vespucci. It was purchased in 1954 by Minnesota industrialist James Ford Bell and is now part of the collection of the University of Minnesota’s James Ford Bell Library. The exhibit also includes an original version of the Cosmographiae Introductio (the 1507 book printed to explain and accompany the Waldseemuller map), original 16th-century manuals and texts on navigation, and other period documents."

T. R. Anderson Gallery, James Ford Bell Library
4th floor, Wilson Library, University of Minnesota

October 1 - December 31, 2007
(Monday-Wednesday, Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.)

Identifying Features: 150 Years of Illustrations, Maps, Graphs and Charts from Government Documents

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:11:09 -0600

"The illustrations, maps, and graphs published in government documents identify significant features of the nation’s geographical, political, biological, cultural, and human landscapes. This exhibition highlights the breadth of resources published in government documents over the past 140 years, from finely detailed illustrations of copper-bearing rocks, to documentary photographs of bird wings, to graphs describing crime statistics."

Gould Library, Carleton College
One North College Street, Northfield, MN

September 21 - December 15, 2007
4th Floor

We, Too, Are Book Artists

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:52:24 -0600

Curated by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., this exhibition "showcases the work of African American artists using the book format and related book arts to communicate humanistic responsibility, social justice, cultural consciousness and spirituality."

Minnesota Center for Book Arts at Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
July 21 - September 22, 2007
Free and open to the public

The Art and Work of Gaylord Schanilec, Wood Engraver, Fine Printer

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:34:57 -0600

A selection of books and broadsides by a leading wood engraver and fine printer.

T. R. Anderson Gallery, 4th Floor, Wilson Library, University of Minnesota
July 5 – August 31, 2007
Free and open to the public

For details see University of Minnesota Libraries Events.
See also Midnight Paper Sales, Gaylord Schanilec's web site.

Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish Naturalist: A 300th Birthday Celebration

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:26:08 -0600

"This special exhibit commemorates the 300th anniversary year of renowned Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). Among other important innovations, Linnaeus devised the naming system that is used to classify and name plants and animals. Linnaeus, unlike many scientists, became legendary in his own lifetime. The exhibit includes a number of Linnaeus’ original works plus reproductions of the plants, animals, birds, and shells that he named."

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Through November 4, 2007; open during Arboretum hours
Free (with paid Arboretum admission) and open to the public

For details see University of Minnesota Libraries Events.

Victorian Secrets and Edwardian Enigmas: The Riddles of the Rooms of 221B Baker Street

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:19:35 -0600

Materials from the Sherlock Holmes Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Exhibit gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library
Through August 20, 2007; open during library hours
Free and open to the public

For details see University of Minnesota Libraries Events.