Curator’s Statement

 

During my tenure as gallery director of Abecedarian my recognition of the immense appeal of sculptural interactivity in visual artworks has grown, alongside my respect for artists able to create such works. Inviting viewer interaction is a risky business, subjecting the work to wear and tear or damage it mightn’t receive if exhibited in a strictly hands-off environment or cloistered behind closed doors.

For this exhibition I am pleased to have assembled a group of artists willing to have their work viewed interactively. As book artists’ are who I most often work with, and as book artists’ are by nature more willing to have their work viewed interactively (a book after all is a form of interactive sculpture) this exhibit includes artists who often, although not exclusively, work under the umbrella of book arts.

As both practitioner and dealer in the field, I have spent much time (too much perhaps) pondering and debating the definition of artists’ books and exploring various answers to the question what is a book. Engaging as these musings and discussions often are, this exhibition has given me the opportunity to indulge my appreciation for well crafted, exciting, dynamic and kinetic works without regard to how they relate to bookness.

I worked to include artists from different regions of the US (with one artist from Canada) all of whom are under-represented in the mid and western United States. I am pleased at their willingness to subject their work to the rigors of transport. The exhibition includes artists whose work I’ve been familiar with for years as well as artists that I tracked down after seeing their work elsewhere. Several of the artists I have never met but with only one exception, I saw actual work (as opposed to seeing only images of their work) prior to inviting them to exhibit.

Many of you who see this catalog, whether in print or online, will not have a chance to experience these works in action, will not be able to appreciate the high level of craft and engineering considerations that are part of every object’s production and presentation. Keep your eyes open though, maybe someday these works will be on view at a place and time that allows you the actual experience of interacting with them.

Alicia Bailey

Gallery Director and Curator

Denver, Colorado