In honor of the Guild of Bookmakers 100th anniversary Book Patrol will regularly feature one book from the Contemporary Exhibition of Juried Works and one book from the Retrospective Exhibition.
The exhibit is currently on display at the Grolier Club in NY and will travel around the country in 2007.
Our first installment features two of Seattle’s own book artists. Bonnie Thompson Norman’s “Primer for Democracy”, a fitting post election piece, and Claudia Cohen’s beautiful binding of Rudolf Koch’s Schriftgiesserei im Schattenbild, 1936
A Primer for Democracy: Seattle, 2004. 8 x 8 x 8 centimeters. was created in a class just before the 2004 presidential elections. During one weekend, people who ordinarily have had no experience either with artist’s books or letterpress printing, and who bring differing perspectives, create content around a theme and structure I introduce. The main theme — VOTE — is repeated and reinforced: CALL, FAX. Essentially, this alphabet book can be constructed, reconstructed, deconstructed in countless ways. Like democracy, as a completed structure.
Koch, Rudolf. Schriftgiesserei im Schattenbild, 1936. 19 x 25.5 x 1 centimeters. Bound in full black Morocco; edges rough cut; sewn on three frayed-out cords; paste paper endleaves with sewn leather inner hinge; handsewn red silk endband; décor of gold and blind tooling with red leather onlays; title in gold on spine.
The Guild of Book Workers is a non-profit organization with membership open to all who are interested in the advancement and greater appreciation of the book arts. It’s members are a who’s who of the leading book artists of the 20th, now 21st, century.