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Tag: artists’ books

Experiencing “The Ultimate Safari”

Janet Stanley
March 25, 2016
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In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a book written and illustrated by female artists, The Ultimate Safari. The book is currently featured in our exhibition, Artists’ Books and Africa, which is open until September 2016 and is located in the National Museum of African Art.

The short story “The Ultimate Safari,” by Nadine Gordimer, was originally published in 1991 in Jump and Other Short Stories (London: Bloomsbury).[1]  This new edition of The Ultimate Safari is distinguished by its illustrations:  twelve lithographs drawn by Aletah Masuku, Alsetah Manthosi, and Dorah Ngomane.  Mark Attwood at The Artists’ Press initiated and produced the book in collaboration with Tamar Mason, co-director of the press.

 

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The Fix: Museum Day Live – Exploring Careers in Libraries and Preservation

John M. Keeling
February 24, 2016
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In anticipation of Smithsonian Libraries’ participation in this year’s Museum Day Live events on Saturday March 12th, we wanted to highlight Library Preservation work at the Book Conservation Lab here at Smithsonian Libraries, and draw attention to the varied interests and skills that are inherent to Preservation work and are important and driving forces in preserving library collections for the future.

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A funny thing happened on the way to my internship: What I accidentally learned in my first week as an AA/PG intern

Anne Evenhaugen
January 25, 2016
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Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here
Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here

This post was written by American Art/Portrait Gallery (AA/PG) Library intern Sharon Wolff. Sharon is an MSIS grad student at SUNY at Albany in New York, and came down to DC to intern with the AA/PG from the end of December through most of January. She primarily worked on cataloging the Art and Artist Files while she was there, along with the upcoming Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here exhibit.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I was accepted as an intern for the Smithsonian AA/PG Library in DC, but I certainly could not have predicted that I would accompany Anne Evenhaugen to George Mason University to pick up artists’ books and prints for an exhibition on my second day. I wasn’t even sure what an artist’s book was, so the whole trip was a great learning opportunity for me!

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Roundtable on Artists’ Books – September 16th

Erin Rushing
September 8, 2015
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To commemorate the opening of our newest exhibit, Artists’ Books and Africa, six artists will discuss how they develop and produce artist books. Panelists will address the inspiration for and recurring themes within their creations. The history of artist books in Africa will also be discussed. Curator Janet Stanley will lead a tour of the exhibit immediately following the discussion.

 

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An Interview with Artist Josephine Stealey

Doug Litts
March 16, 2015
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Paired for Life, by Josephine Stealey
Paired for Life, by Josephine Stealey

Smithsonian Libraries has been working to share its collection of artists’ books. One of the end products of the this initiative has been the creation of a new Smithsonian Libraries artists’ book collection portal where visitors can explore the many artworks in the collection and learn more about the medium.

As part of my interest and research into the medium of artists’ books as and as the branch librarian for the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG), my participation as the juror for a national artist book exhibition held at Pyramid Atlantic resulted in the first prize being awarded to Jo Stealey for her work Paired for Life which has now been added to the AA/PG artists’ book collection. You can read more about my experience as a judge for the show here and here.

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A National Artists’ Book Exhibition Opening

Doug Litts
March 2, 2015
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Outside the Margins exhibition
Outside the Margins exhibition

Smithsonian Libraries has been working to share its collection of artists’ books. One of the end products of this initiative has been the creation of a new Smithsonian Libraries artists’ book collection portal where visitors can explore the many artworks in the collection and learn more about the medium.

As part of my interest and research into the medium of artists’ books as and as the branch librarian for the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG), my participation as the juror for a national artist book exhibition held at Pyramid Atlantic has been detailed in a previous post on Unbound. All of this led up to the opening night.

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Judging an Artists’ Book Exhibition

Doug Litts
February 23, 2015
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Setting up an artists' book exhibition
Setting up an artists’ book exhibition

 

Starting with a summer professional internship project in 2011, Smithsonian Libraries has been working to share its collection of artists’ books. One of the end products of the this initiative has been the creation of a new Smithsonian Libraries artists’ book collection portal where visitors can explore the many artworks in the collection and learn more about the medium.

Continue ReadingJudging an Artists’ Book Exhibition