Fall 2006
Fully Enrolled

ARTS 622
Mixed Media and the Unique Artists' Book

Nowak,Rhea M.

09/11/2006 - 12/16/2006
Tuesday 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM

Art Workshop 105

Working with mixed media and predominantly, though not exclusively, on paper, we will create unique artist's books in which a series of visual and tactile expressions unfold. The book format offers the visual artist a time-based sense of performance. It offers the opportunity to create complex works that are experienced through the intimacy of touch as well as sight. We will begin with some basic book forms such as the accordion book, the stab stitch book, and the simple codex, and then combine and expand these forms using some of the possibilities that open up when various wet and dry drawing media and collage materials are layered and juxtaposed.

With the intention of creating unique books wherein structural and formal aspects support and expand content, we will work through a series of projects and questions with specific parameters. And we will seriously play with our materials. Projects will overlap, be ongoing, and include a collaborative book, a window or shaped book, a difficult book, and others. Both in-progress group discussions and finished project critiques will be used to share technical, formal, and contextual insights. Predominantly a studio class, the course requires us to do some reading and also to visit a collection of artist's books to see how other artists have worked with the book format.

Sources and recommended reading: Keith A. Smith, Structure of the Visual Book; Artist's Books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook, ed. Joan Lyons; and Shereen LaPlantz, Cover to Cover. Other suggested reading: Joanna Drucker, The Century of Artist's Books; and Sue Doggett, Bookworks.

A materials list will be posted to the course description on the GLSP Web site; students are expected to come to the first class prepared to work. Enrollment is limited to 14 students. Additional fee is $15.

A syllabus for this course is available at:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/masters/courses/Fall_2006/Course%20Syllabi/syb_arts622.html


Rhea Nowak (B.A. Bennington College; Master Printer Certificate Il Bisonte, International School of Printmaking, Florence, Italy; M.F.A. University of Connecticut) is an artist whose work has been exhibited in nearly 40 solo and small group shows, most recently at Studio 88 (New York).

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Consent of Instructor Required: No

Format: Studio

Level: GLSP Credits: 3 Enrollment Limit: 15

Texts to purchase for this course:
PLEASE NOTE: There are no required texts for this course. The following texts are recommended for purchase

Johanna Drucher, THE CENTURY OF ARTIST'S BOOKS (Granary Books), Paperback

Shereen LaPlantz, COVER TO COVER (Lark Books), Paperback

Joan Lyons, ARTIST'S BOOKS: A CRITICAL ANTHOLOGY AND SOURCEBOOK (Gibbs Smith), Paperback

Keith Smith, STRUCTURE OF THE VISUAL BOOK (Keith Smith Books), Paperback

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