2011 National Handmade
Book Arts Show and Sale
The Future of the Book
The 2011 CBBAG Book Arts Show and Sale
hosted by the Ottawa Valley Chapter
Saturday, 11 June 2011, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Library and Archives Canada,
395 Wellington St., Ottawa, Ontario.
Open to the public and admission is free.
Exhibition: The Nature of Words - all day
Speakers include: George Walker "The Future of the Book" at 4 p.m.
Future of the Book is the theme for this year’s CBBAG Book Arts Show. An impressive array of book artists and artisans are coming together to look at this intriguing question.
In his book, Notre Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo pens the phrase Ceci tuera cela. Archdeacon Claude Frollo says it as he looks from the printed book in his hand towards his manuscript library. It translates, as “this will kill that.” The Archdeacon is anticipating the loss of thousands of Memory cathedrals due to the creation of the printed book. Will the book kill the cathedral? Will the alphabet kill images? It didn't, but today we stand at a similar crossroad, with new electronic readers flooding the country. In our case, it’s technology that could kill the book.
And so we ask, what is the future of the book? Will its physical form become obsolete as we transition to digital renditions? Or will the concept of the book – what it is and will become – be expanded and changed by our technology-driven world?
To lead off this discussion, there will be a group exhibition of books, book objects, and works on paper, titled The Nature of Words, featuring work by Reg Beatty, Sigrid Blohm, Wendy Cain, Mira Coviensky, Margaret Lock, Will Rueter, and Don Taylor. These artists are accomplished private press printers, designer-bookbinders, papermakers, printmakers, and multimedia artists who use paper in assemblages and sculpture.
Drawn in pen and ink or printed from wood and metal type; 'written' in legible letters or imagined alphabets, careful calligraphy or gestural grafitti; cut from leather and paper or constructed with wire and thread; from single pages to books and scrolls, these works encourage viewers to think about the many possible ways that texts can be presented, and therefore about the nature of words.
To expand upon the theme, a speakers program will feature a series of short talks on a wide variety of book arts related topics throughout the day. The topics include historical binding techniques, book collecting, papermaking, and printing poetry. The keynote speaker will be award-winning wood engraver, book artist, teacher, author, and illustrator George Walker, speaking on the “Future of the Book”.
The Show will also provide many local artists with the opportunity to exhibit their explorations in the book arts. From the preservation of historic techniques to taking the book to a new level, book artists want you to see a book as a three-dimensional structure. The Book Arts Show and Sale provides a unique opportunity to meet these artists and discover the breadth of the book arts movement in Canada. The Show includes over 25 bookbinders, book artists, letterpress and fine press printers, printmakers, papermakers, paper marblers, calligraphers, book restoration artists and conservators, suppliers, and more.
All book lovers can explore the range of fine handcrafted products being created and will have the opportunity to purchase unique treasures or to start on a new creative journey of their own. The Book Arts Show and Sale is also an opportunity for book artists and bookbinders to meet others working in the related disciplines and to discover new techniques, methods, or materials.
This year’s event presents a wide variety of work both for exhibit and for sale, including one-of-a-kind artist books, letterpress broadsides and publications, livres d’artiste, and bookbinding supplies.