A new exhibition at the NAU Art Museum highlights the sensory experiences and imaginative encounters offered through books.
“Tangibles: Beauty and Purpose in the Art of the Book” runs Sept. 17 through Dec. 16, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19. It ranges from the traditional media of paint, ink, paper, woodcuts and engravings, to unexpected conceptions of the book as an aesthetic object.
George Speer, director of the NAU Art Museum, said this is the first of a series of juried exhibitions on the book as art.
“The book as art is enjoying a sustained and vigorous level of support in the United States as well as internationally, and we are proud to be a part of this phenomenon,” Speer said.
Co-jurors for the exhibition are David Williams and Susan kae Grant. Williams is a professor of printmaking at Northern Arizona University and has served as juror numerous times for the NAU Art Museum’s Biennial Printmaking Exhibition. Grant is professor of art and head of the Photography area at Texas Woman’s University and has produced 13 limited edition handmade books, most recently Shadowed Memory. She has conducted bookmaking workshops, lectured on artists’ books and exhibited her work internationally.
The NAU Art Museum is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed all university holidays. It is located in the historic Old Main building on NAU’s north campus.