Visions

Every so often, an art book is released that speaks to me from cover to cover. You know the one that you constantly go back to for information and inspiration. I really only have a few on this list and one of them without doubt is Book + Art: Handcrafting Artist's Books by Dorothy Simpson Krause.

This book was released in 2009 but I am posting about it today because I recently saw her current solo exhibition, Visions, at 571 Projects in NYC. Running through April 16, Visions showcases a series of new, mixed media works that have been inspired by an 18th century poem. The pieces in the show are framed and wall-hung, but an artist book based on the exhibition is in the process of being created. Dorothy Simpson Krause generously took the time to write the following to the readers of The Altered Page:

"I'm currently completing a book, Visions to accompany the exhibition at 571 Projects of images related to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan or, A Vision in a Dream, A Fragment, composed in 1797 after an opium influenced dream. Coleridge's vision is of a savage place, with holy and enchanted caverns, walls, towers and a sacred river where "The shadow of the dome of pleasure floated midway on the waves". These haunting images of submerged architectural passageways, lit from within, reflect the branches of trees and illuminate floating leaves and flowers."

"Producing a body of work for an exhibit and making a book are similar in that they use images that have a relationship and work well together. While wall-hung pieces may be variable in size, shape and material and any number can be hung in any order, books are usually designed to be hand-held and bound so the images and text are sequential. In this case the wall hanging pieces, are much larger and use varied materials including fresco and aluminum. The book pages, incorporating text from Coleridge's poem, reformats and extends the images to produce pages that are 8.5" x 5.5". The paper, printing, binding and cover are yet to be decided but will be in keeping with the spirit of the work."

Head over to NearSay to read my review of and hear more details about of Visions. If you are in NYC, you can see Visions through April 16. Dorothy Simpson Krause will be at the gallery for the final day of the exhibition and will reveal her artist book at that time.