Liber Mundi + Books, Here and Now

Reception: Thursday, October 20, 5–7pm

Artist talk: Thursday, October 20, 11:30-12:30pm

Gallery Hours
M,T,W,F, 10am–5pm
Th, 10am–8pm
Sat, 12–5pm

Liber Mundi explores the act of discovery found in transmission of information via the contemporary book form, artist books, and zines. Books are receptacles in which we explore the personal and the political, in which we make sense of our place in the world and leave our legacy for future readers. Zines and other handmade books express an age-old struggle for people to find their voices in authentic and accessible ways. The book allows us to communicate across space and time, within our communities and around the globe.

The Liber Mundi project was designed by J. Pascoe of Philadelphia to include artists from around the globe who would create books to share and trade. Originally the project was to consist of fourteen artists, half from the US and half from elsewhere in North America and Europe (England, Finland, Serbia, Hungary, Poland, and Mexico). As the project developed, several artists had to pull out, but the remaining work continued to focus on what it means to transmit visual ideas in book form to readers and viewers who may not share our language but who share our universal struggle to find meaning.

Each participating artist is organizing an exhibition or event for the project in their area. So far, Liber Mundi has been shown in Finland, Mexico, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco. More information on the project and the other exhibitions can be found at www.libermundi.tumblr.com.

As a companion show to one featuring long-distance transmission, Books, Here and Now explores the transmissions of ideas that happen among colleagues and within our own community. This exhibition focuses on the book work of nine Montserrat faculty members, from departments ranging from Book Art to Sculpture, Photography to Graphic Design, Painting to Animation and Interactive Media.

Through both the handmade and the commercially made book, these artists explore the role the visual book can play to disseminate ideas, explore boundaries of communication, and adapt methods and ideas from previous book forms. Some of the work serves as a permanent record of exhibitions we may not otherwise have seen, while some of the books become their own exhibitions. Across disciplines and approaches, these artists use the book form as a site and subject for art making.