H&B Panel Addresses the Future of the Book
Handmade & Bound Closes the Books on ‘Familiar Relics’ Exhibition
With Panel Discussion and Reception Oct. 19
Book artists and booksellers take on “Off the Shelf: Book Culture in the Digital Age”
Handmade & Bound Nashville, Vol. 2 will mark the conclusion of the festival’s juried book arts exhibition, Familiar Relics, with a panel discussion about the future of the book in the face of new technologies, on Friday, October 19, 7 p.m., at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
Panelists for “Off the Shelf: Book Culture in the Digital Age” are arts writer/East Side Story proprietor Chuck Beard, Parnassus Books co-owner Karen Hayes, Austin Peay State University professor/Goldsmith Press director Cynthia Marsh, and Maryland Institute College of Art library director/book artist and Familiar Relics juror Tony White. Watkins photography department chair Robin Paris will moderate. Immediately following the panel, a reception, offering a final look at the Familiar Relics exhibition, will be held in the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Gallery.
About the panelists:
· Chuck Beard – Sole proprietor of all-local Nashville bookstore East Side Story (eastsidestorytn.com), Beard is also executive editor for the visual arts publication Number, a freelance writer, a self-published author (“Adventures Inside a Bright-Eyed Sky”) and a blogger at NashvillesheART.com.
· Karen Hayes – A publishing veteran with more 20 years experience in buying and sales with Random House and Ingram Books, Hayes launched independent bookstore Parnassus Books (parnassusbooks.net) in November 2011, in partnership with author Ann Patchett.
· Cynthia Marsh – Director of the Goldsmith Press & Rare Type Collection (artapsu.com) and Professor of Art at Austin Peay State University (Clarksville), Marsh has also taught at the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles, California State University, Northridge and the American Institute of Graphic Design. Her work in the classroom and in the studio focuses on photography, printmaking, graphic design and book arts. Marsh earned a BFA in printmaking from Moore College of Art and Design (Philadelphia) and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology.
· Tony White – Director of the Decker Library at the Maryland Institute College of Art (mica.edu) and field editor for artist’s books and books for artists for the College Art Association’s online reviews journal caareviews.org, White served as juror of the Familiar Relics exhibition. A founding board member of the College Book Art Association and a founder of the Contemporary Artist’s Book Conference in New York, White has been making artist’s books for over 20 years. He holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MLS from Indiana University.
Panel moderator:
· Robin Paris – Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography at Watkins College of Art Design & Film, she studied visual anthropology and creative writing before pursuing photography. Paris spent a year as a resident artist at Anderson Ranch in Aspen, Colorado (assisting Keith Smith and Jerry Uelsmann), and currently works in historical processes, digital imaging, and book works. She holds a BA in Studio Arts from Evergreen State College and an MFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Staged in association with the second annual Handmade & Bound Nashville book arts festival (which ran Oct. 4-6 at Watkins), Familiar Relics features more than 30 works that speak to the familiarity and evolution of the book.
First place was awarded to Kerri Cushman (Farmville, VA) for “Measuring Up”; second place to Amandine Nabarra Piomelli (Irvine, CA) for “Bernouli Equation”; and third place to Candace Hicks (Athens, TX) for “Common Threads Volume XXXIV.” Honorable mention went to Joseph Lappie (Davenport, IA), for “The Artificer Arisen, The Artificer Fallen.”
Regional book artists and instructors Annie Herlocker (Paper Revival Press) and Jennifer Knowles-McQuistion (Brown Dog Bindery) curated the exhibition, which is on view daily through Saturday, October 20, in the Currey Gallery. Admission is free.
Currey Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 to 4 pm. For more information, visit handmadeboundnashville.com or Watkins.edu.
Watkins is located at 2298 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. in MetroCenter (free parking is available in the campus lot).
About Handmade & Bound Nashville
Handmade & Bound Nashville is an annual celebration of artists’ books, zines, mini-comics and other independent publications held at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film. Presented by the Watkins Library and Community Education department, the free, family-friendly festival features hands-on activities in the book arts, demonstrations of techniques and crafts, and dozens of vendors and distributors, in addition to a juried gallery exhibition, panel discussion, and community art project. All events are free and open to the public.
Handmade & Bound Nashville, Vol. 2 is supported in part by a grant from the William N. Rollins Fund for the Arts of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The festival and its activities are part of Artober, the city-wide initiative celebrating the arts throughout October (artobernashville.com). Visit handmadeboundnashville.com or contact the Watkins Library at 615.277.7427.