Michael Lieberman

The Biblio Universe of Adam Bateman

In Adam Bateman's world books are the structural foundation. Whether he is building walls, spheres or stacks the book is his cornerstone. Adam Bateman, The Fourth Thousand Years, books, 2011In the Artist Statement from one of his past shows, Bateman says:"The primary structure of my sculptures is the text of the books, the secondary structure is the form made of books. In that way, the books actually work as signifiers (like words) and so the structured arrangement I make with them is analogous to writing."Drawing heavily from the Minimalists Bateman believes in "art as language" and luckily for us books are...

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Book Art on Parade in Iowa City

 Chicago had its Cows on Parade, Seattle had its Pigs on Parade now Iowa City will soon unveil Book Art on Parade.To celebrate it being named by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) as the third City of Literature in the world, and the only one in the United States, in 2008, Johnson County, Iowa created Book Marks.Book Marks is a public art project that will feature over 60 book-themed statues, each 5-feet by 3 1/2-feet, that will be displayed throughout the county from June through October. As with similar "parades" each sculpture has a sponsor and after...

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Eat Touch Love: A book of edible body art

 James Beard award-winning chef Tiberio Simone latest creation takes him outside the kitchen and into the studio. His new book La Figa: Visions of Food and Form, the culmination of a a five year collaboration with photographer Matt Freedman, is an exploration of "natural beauty and fresh flavors."Using the human body as his canvas, and natural fresh ingredients as both his paint and his adhesives, Simone has developed a new art of food and form. The synergy of his ephemeral artwork with Freedman’s photography is magical – producing a series of breathtaking images that will stir your soul, pique your...

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Oprah the Book Fairy: The Astounding Success of the Oprah Book Club

You can bet publisher's are going to miss Oprah as much as her viewers when her long-running show wraps up next week. Nielsen has just released an accounting of the impact of Oprah's Book Club on the sales of the books chosen. In the last ten years she has sold over 22 million copies of books bearing her Book Club branding.Her full impact on book sales is hard to quantify but there are some amazing concrete numbers regarding how many books bearing the Oprah Book Club selection imprint have sold. For example, the Oprah trade paperback edition of  A Million...

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