Library Exhibits

PERSONAL PAGES
Books and Images from Four Artists
June 26 through August 28 , 2010
OPENING RECEPTION on SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 3-5 PM

The H. Pelham Curtis Gallery at New Canaan Library announces the opening of Personal Pages on Saturday, June 26, with a reception at the Library from 3:00-5:00pm four the four artists whose work is represented in the show: John Lister,
Roxanne Faber Savage, Peggy Weis and Susan Newbold.

The order of the artists' statements below corresponds to the placement of their work on the image above.

JOHN LISTER

For centuries books have used to collect and store information - facts, stories, images, thoughts, records. I have always been fascinated and inspired by documents, old and recent, that were personally created, the content coming directly from the mind to the hand to the paper, without the neutralizing effects of technology. And with no easy way to erase, mistakes become a part of the book. My books began over 30 years ago as to-do lists and have evolved to become a combination of sketch books, scrap books and journals. They are a personal record of my daily life, my travels and my observations.

John Lister is chairman of Lister Butler Consulting, a New York based firm specializing in brand identity. John was trained as a graphic designer and photographer at Leeds College of Art in England and Werkkunstschule Dortmund in Germany. At Lister Butler, John has directed programs for major corporations worldwide. John is a resident of Rowayton, Connecticut. His local pro-bono work includes identities for Shakespeare on the Sound, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Wilson Avenue Loft Artists and the Bell Island Association.

ROXANNE FABER SAVAGE

Copy This: I’m an expert copier. Making copies is a huge part of my artistic process and a key source of inspiration for the selection of books and prints on view. I truly delight in working with copy machines: enlarging, reducing; pressing “special features” for reversing words and transforming imagery from negative to positive. In this exhibit I celebrate copies and bring their status up to a whole new level. “Basic” copies are featured as flipbooks and formed as ZINES (instant one page folded books).

Copies are also the main ingredient in the print transfer process called Paper Lithography. In this process, paper copies are the matrix for making prints. (The “Xerox” is the plate.)

The pinkpleather books, plexiglass block books and paper prints are made using this transfer process.

The beauty of this “copy” based technique is that I can make instant art & hands-on books using existing imagery or develop original journal drawings into large format prints to explore and define my ideas. Visit www.roxanneprints.com for more details and examples of my work.

PEGGY WEIS

As a printmaker and mixed media artist, my work is basically autobiographical. A specific event or activity, either in my life or in the life of our universe as I experience it, serves as the inspiration. From that, my creative process begins, deciding what format the work should take, be it a monoprint, book, or mixed media. In contrast to artists who repeatedly use a certain vocabulary of marks, colors or images, I let the subject or message determine both the process and vocabulary.

I’ve worked in many different mediums: glass and wood sculptures, mixed media pieces and also handmade portfolios and books. Of course, in all my work there is always something I want to say or an image with which I wish to work. So what is it that makes me choose the format of a book?

I choose the book format when I have a story to tell. They may not be traditional stories with beginnings, endings and plots but they are stories just the same. Sometimes the stories are rather linear as in the book about my daughter’s wedding, or my step-sons social deterioration, and other times they are a compilation of images which the viewer pieces together, as in the book of diptychs about my mother’s escape from the Nazis, coming to America and marriage here in the states.

I love the format of a book because it forms a precious package bound both physically and metaphorically. I hope you enjoy my contributions this wonderful show. Visit www.peggyweis.com to see examples of my work.

SUSAN NEWBOLD

My book making practice began in graduate school.  I was paralyzed by fear of the blank page at one point and my artist teacher suggested that I work out my ideas in a small book.  I loved the intimacy of this process. I soon moved forward, creating books, even learning how to make them, and the books quickly became as important to me as the larger works they inspired.  I've loved exploring different methods of bookmaking and found this to be an infinite source of creativity and discovery.  To share this connection with others, I've taught a course called “The Illuminated Journal” for the last ten years to groups across the country.

I've also had the privilege to attend residencies in the U.S., France and New Zealand and my journals from those life-changing experiences inspire much of my work. They capture those enlightened moments of “seeing” and honor those meditative times that yield a deeper understanding of a place/moment.

My work in books allows me to take a closer look, to pare down my interests.  I'm often surprised by how elements emerge and the subject matter becomes more abstract and conceptual as a result.  Ultimately, the books are a separate entity, allowing viewers a direct relationship with the process.  And this connection enlarges the entire aesthetic experience beyond viewing works of art. Artist books are a powerful means of accomplishing this vital communication, and I'm grateful to have and to share them as part of my artistic vocabulary. Visit www.susannewbold.com.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Art Committee of the Friends of the Library. The curators are Laura Einstein and Susie Salomon.

Gallery hours: Mon. – Thurs., 9-8, Fri.-Sat. 9-5.

Past Exhibits
Information about submitting work for review