Released: April 1, 2009
Lincoln, Neb. - The Heart & Hands 2009 Juried Book Art Exhibition for Students is on display April 1-30 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Love Library. The exhibition will then travel to the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Criss Library for a showing in May.
A public "Hands-on Viewing and Discussion" with UNL Cather Professor of Art Karen Kunc will be presented in Love Library, located at 13th and R sts. on the UNL city campus, on Wednesday, April 22 at 4:30 p.m., where visitors can handle and read the intriguing books and understand the many directions and challenges explore by artists in the multi-disciplinary book arts world.
This national exhibition showcases the best examples of a broad range of books being made by graduate and undergraduate students in accredited academic institutions. There are 39 books included made by 32 artists, representing 23 different schools across the country.
Two students from UNL and one student from UNO are featured in the exhibition. UNL students Debra Omel, a Bachelor of Fine Arts senior from Lincoln, and David Knox, a Bachelor of Fine Arts junior from Overland Park, Ks., each have a book featured in the exhibition. Tigar Bird, an undergraduate art student at UNO from Weeping Water, Neb., is also included in the exhibition.
Books made in book arts, graphic design, photography, print¬making and writing courses will be featured. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries will purchase selected award-winning books from the exhibit for their special collections.
Bonnie Stahlecker, a nationally recognized book artist, served as the juror with a campus visit March 5-7, where she also conducted bookmaking workshops with students in the Department of Art and Art History's Art of the Book course.
Stahlecker's books have been described as "image condensed as object," and her recent work often combines her own poetry with full-page intaglio images. Her work has been exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions including Built by Hand: The Book as Art, Washington, D.C., and Suave Mechanicals: Early to Modern Binding Styles in Ann Arbor, Mich. Her work is included in many publications, including The Penland Book of Handmade Books. She has conducted workshops at many sites including the Minnesota Center for Book Art; Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, Portland; Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, Maine; and Penland School, Penland, N.C.
Heart & Hands 2009 is sponsored by the UNL Department of Art and Art History, the Nebraska Book Arts Center, UNL Love Library, UNO Criss Library and Lincoln Print Group.