Curators' Statement
This is the fourth Art of the Book juried, traveling book arts exhibitions organized by the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild at five year intervals since 1988.CBBAG has always had a heavy exhibition schedule, including, Meister der Einbandkunst; Two Centuries of Bookbinding: Materials and Techniques, 1700 - 1900; Contemporary Canadian Bookworks; Fine Printing: The Private Press in Canada; and Millennium in a Box; as well as mounting many one-location exhibitions.
The Art of the Book exhibitions have been a happy revelation as we have watched the development of the book arts over the twenty years since the founding of CBBAG in 1983. There is splendid work being done in all of the book arts fields.
The great progress in artists’ books continues apace. Each of the five year intervals has demonstrated ongoing growth in this field with the work becoming more innovative, integrated in its various aspects, communicative conceptually, and technically strong. The artists have something to say and they say it well.
The delightful surprise in this jurying was the splendid submissions in the box making category, where every piece could have been a prize-winner.
We have had excellent private press printers in Canada for a very long time. The work being created in fine printing continues to be strong and beautiful, with, as well, new dedicated printers arriving on the scene.
The numbers submitted for jurying continues to be high in spite of the emotional and financial burden involved. The artists invest their hopes and are exposing themselves to the chance of rejection. There were 261 submissions to the first stage jurying from slides, with 120 pieces selected for the stage two jurying, and 68 for the show itself. Of these, 30 are in artists’ books, 12 in fine binding, 11 in fine printing, 5 in box making, 4 in decorated paper, and 3 each in papermaking and calligraphy. No matter how often we repeat the odds (1 in 3 at best), the artists still feel that, in not being accepted, their work has been found wanting. In fact, almost all of the work we see is worthy of exhibition.
One of the most rewarding aspects of curating is seeing the work of artists who were previously unknown to you, or of people you know whose work you have never seen. During jurying the artist's identity is removed as much as possible, so that the jury will not be influenced by associating the work with the artist. After the jurying, in continuing to work with the show, you do connect the works with their makers.
The opportunity to become familiar with such a large number of works being created in the book arts has been an education in itself. In the course of curating these four Art of the Book exhibitions we have examined over 1,000 examples of book arts from all parts of Canada, the United States, England, Mexico, Finland, Israel, and other countries. We are among the fortunate few who have had the opportunity to view, to examine, and to enjoy the many examples of admirable work being done in these fields. We have had numerous exciting revelations and wonderful surprises, and for those we thank the artists.
We never cease to be grateful for the courage and generosity of book artists everywhere. We urge you to keep your dedication high and keep working in the book arts.
Shelagh Smith and Susan Corrigan