If you’re at the Center for the Book in Iowa this fall, make sure to check out the Handy Books exhibition, including this upcoming symposium and opening reception. I’m really excited to be a part of this exhibition, because it uses historic examples as the basis for artists’ responses (BUT those responses have to consider movable components of the book beyond the usual function of a codex). I created a piece that moves well beyond the codex form, using three egg shapes with movable components to tell a story (you can see a video of it in action here).
I used two examples from the Bentley Museum’s collection: A dissolving picture book, and a fragment of a microfiche Lunar Bible housed in a Faberge egg. The good folks at UICB posted a few photos as teasers before the opening, and I am *so excited* to see all the great works that my piece was put in conversation with. As always, they have done an amazing job, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the exhibit once it opens!
One last note: I’m especially happy about this exhibit because it’s one of four (!) I’ve been in so far this year (if you know me IRL you know that I historically was pretty shy about sharing my art, so that’s a big deal). I don’t see that train stopping, so expect to see more of my art in public spaces moving forward!
Julia C. Skinner 