Charlotte Street's Urban Culture Project Presents PAGES 11/19

Charlotte Street Foundation's Urban Culture Project presents PAGES: Book as Medium, Catalyst, Venue

Opening: Friday, NOVEMBER 19, 6-9pm / Curator's remarks at 6pm
PARAGRAPH gallery (an Urban Culture Project venue) / 23 East 12th Street, KCMO 64105
Exhibition runs November 19, 2010-January 6, 2011
Gallery Hours: 12-5 Wed, Fri, Sat; 11-6 Thurs.

Featured artists:
Cara Barer, Kelie Bowman, Joe Bussell, Caitlin Cass, Alicia Chester, Justin Cownden, Greg Crawford, Brian Dettmer, Christa Donner, Shea Gordon Festoff, Ben Finer, Julie Green, Julian Jason Haladyn, Tanya Hartman, Rob Hatem, Aimee Howard, Lisa Iglesias, Brooke Inman, Michael Krueger, Judith G. Levy, China Marks, Liz Maugans, Colleen Maynard, Ellen Mueller, Armin Mühsam, Mia Nolting, Jessica Owings, Nathaniel Parsons, Samantha Persons, Lee Piechocki, Caroline Pjecha, David Pjecha, Stephen Proski, Melissa & Lucy Powlas, Luke Rocha, Ryan Sarah Murphy, Tennille Shuster, Angela Silver, Sean Starowitz/Jordan Stempleman, the WAFA Collective, Courtney Weida, Corinna West, Donika Wiley, and David Williams/ Kotaro Itami.

Curated by artist Amy Kligman, Pages: Book as Medium, Catalyst, Venue is an exhibition that celebrates the diversity of thought, process, and experience that can be revealed or inspired via the book. All of the artists in this show draw inspiration from books in some way, and as a collection the work demonstrates the potential of the book in artmaking, as a subject, tool, material, and/or springboard for other work.

For some artists in the show, the book is an inexpensive, unpretentious venue that one can carry anywhere and work on at any given moment. For others, it is appreciated for its relationship to story and narrative, or for its nature as a multiple, to be published and distributed widely. Still others use the book as raw material to carve or sculpt, fascinated by its capacity to reveal secrets one page (or layer) at a time. Some see the book as a record of facts, used to document process and discoveries.

This exhibition will include all kinds of artist books, ranging widely in format and purpose. The hope is to present the book as an opportunity-as an entry point to one's own art practice, as a catalyst to new and evolved work, and as an object that even in an age of digital media still carries a certain aura of the limitless potential of all the worlds possibly contained within its pages.

Pages features the work of artists from the Kansas City area and around the country, including emerging as well as established artists. As part of the exhibition, Paragraph will include a "reading room" of work shown in a library-like setting, where visitors will be encouraged to engage in browsing artists' books, sketchbooks, and zines.

RELATED PROGRAMMING:
Parallel programming will be happening throughout the duration of the exhibition at Paragraph and additional venues in Kansas City. These additional events, workshops, and extensions of the Pages installation will support the show's focus on the use of books in artmaking.

AT PARAGRAPH, 23 East 12th Street (all free and open to the public):
· ARTISTS TALK - Saturday, November 20, 1pm
with Tanya Hartman, Judith G Levy, Rob Hatem, Michael Krueger, Lee Piechocki, Sean Starowitz, Luke Rocha, Stephen Proski, and Corinna West

· 'ZINES MADE TO ORDER: AN INSTALLATION & INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE
Friday, December 10, 6-10pm
Wonder Fair: Art Gallery, Shoppe & Studio of Lawrence, KS will be taking orders and cranking out handmade, one-of-a-kind 'zines assembly line style in this interactive art event and performance. Visit http://www.wonderfair.com/ for more information.

AT CARA AND CABEZAS CONTEMPORARY, 218 Delaware, Suite 208,KCMO 64105 (River Market area):
· DOCUMENTS (November 19-January 6)
Cara and Cabezas Contemporary present Documents, a parallel program to Pages. Documents will feature a new work by artist-in-residence Boris Ciudad Real, and works by Diane Henk, Jose Faus, Garry Noland, and Beata Wehr. Ciudad-Real's installation Abejas (Bees) creates an environment for the audience to explore a stack of Salvadoran periodicals that are known for featuring stories of violence in San Salvador. The elements of the construction - site-specific sound, partially constructed wall of used bricks, and a drawn beehive - add to the tension of the accounts of violence and comment on the construction of the media in comparison to daily realities. Works selected by Diane Henk, Jose Faus, Garry Noland, and Beata Wehr further explore the use of the document to construct or deconstruct alternative realities, both political and personal. Each artist has employed found materials-tools, thread, and other ephemera -to draw out the content of the flat "documents" into a three-dimensional space for examination.

AT INKUBATOR PRESS AT THE ARTS INCUBATOR, 115 West 18th Street, KC MO 64108
BEGINNERS BOOKBINDING WORKSHOPS
INKubator PRESS will offer two book making workshops in the month of November in conjunction with Pages. Participants will learn the basics of two different binding techniques, and will finish the day with their own personally crafted book and the knowledge of how to expand on these simple practical designs.

Part I: Stab Bindings - November 20, 10am-1pm
Cost: $35
Printmaker Nicholas Naughton and friends will guide participants through the various steps of designing and constructing their own stab-stitched books. The day will begin with discussion about binding techniques including historical examples and variations on this simple binding, including artist book examples. Next, participants will create their own books, including preparing paper, poking the holes, sewing the thread and embellishing the cover. If you've wanted to learn how to make your own custom sketchbook, this workshop is for you. 3 hrs. No experience required. Materials included. All ages welcome.

Part II: The Versatile Accordion Book - November 21, 10am-3pm
Cost: $45
The accordion book is one of the most common designs used in artist book making. Many book artists have used this design and have customized it to address a variety of topics and content. The staff at INKubator PRESS will coach participants through the basic process of designing an accordion book, including how to create a hard cover and ways to customize the book's layout.
No experience required. Materials included. All ages welcome.

Attend both workshops for a special rate of $70. RSVP's accepted before the day of class by emailing inkinfo@artsincubatorkc.org. For more information visit www.inkubatorpress.org or call 816-979-3443.

To post a comment, you must register and login.