The Life Cycle of the Book was held on June 9, 2023, in the lobby of the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.
The exhibit included 10 “exploded” books by Santa Fe Book Arts Group members, as shown below.
These new works of art were created from discarded books that exemplify the variety of printing techniques employed over time by publishers. Reveling in a book’s tangible aspects, the show brings together 10 works created from books that engage different periods in art and celebrate the art of printing itself.
Abby Smith, Librarian and archivist at the NMMA, contacted BAG to ask if we’d like a donation of some old books that they were weeding out that were unrelated to their collection focus. Abby understood that book artists could repurpose these as art.
BAG’s Community Outreach committee sprang into action, picking up the books and disseminating them to BAG members everywhere.
The artists are:
- Tracy Armagost
- Sally Blakemore
- Kim Burkholder
- Barbara Doroba-Ogg
- Julie Filatoff
- Alex Fischer
- Lynn Grimes
- Mary Ann Jackson
- Roberta Lutgens
- Lee Mann
- Mary Gray McGee
- Marcia Moore
- Barbara “Beej” Nierengarten-Smith
- Rosemary Rae