MCBA is proud to present an exhibition of
New Work by the MCBA Jerome Foundation Mentorship Artists
November 20, 2009 -- February 21, 2010

Please join us for the opening reception on
Friday, November 20, 6-9pm; artist presentations 7pm in the gallery
Free and open to the public

Featured artists:

Language is thought of as the most explanatory form of communication. From author to author, written language reveals subjective interpretation. Photographer and mixed media installation artist Gregory Carideo's project takes a single well-known story and showcases the nuance of meanings derived from the first sentence, one that has refused translation from its native language for 94 years and has transformed much like its subject.

Painter and mixed media artist Tanaegh Haddad's work, entitled My Brother's Keeper, is a set of 12 books in the form of Ethiopian Prayer scrolls (10”X 30”) with hand-painted images and letterpress text, housed in a handmade box. The work describes a 2008 car accident involving her brother, a medical doctor, and the subsequent series of events. The narrative describes abuse inflicted by the police, his treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital -- where he had previously completed his residency -- and some of the spiritual and emotional experiences resulting from the incident. The artist uses selected Psalms to represent her brother's "voice" in the description of events, some of which he does not remember because of his physical trauma and heavy sedation. Haddad's words respond to him reflecting her prayers and communicating to him her own memory of the events.

Titled The Red List, textile and mixed media artist Amber Jensen has been working on a large-scale alphabet book of endangered species. Each page is decoratively cut and covered in muslin with the inside quietly displaying an individual painting. Accompanying the piece is a smaller reproduction of the book in a limited edition of handmade red wool envelopes that will be for sale at the opening with proceeds going to the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

"Were I a spider
this would be a story
of intricacy, geometry,
the treachery of silk."
(from An Architecture of Waiting, stanza 5)
Combining poetry, metalwork and sculptural elements, Sheila Lynch-Salamon's An Architecture of Waiting poses these questions: What is the color of waiting? Its texture? Its spatial parameters? In this work, poetry is held captive within 3 distinct architectural frameworks. It hides. It is hammered onto the metal pages of books. This is poetry attempting to outwit the page, and shatter the tension between staying put and moving forward.

Ceramic, mosaic and mixed media artist Deborah Ramos's project fuses her cultural connections and research in a bookwork exploring relationships between humans and the Earth within the Mexihca oral tradition. As an amateur gardener, Ramos is fascinated with the metamorphosis of seed to fruit and its similarity to the human life cycle, and has conducted much research on the oral/pictographic literature of Mexico, focusing especially on the significance of corn. The resulting bookwork also includes explorations in papermaking with natural fibers significant to the culture.

Knowledge begins with a raw experience, which is charted into data points or articulated into other languages. It is translated, simplified, or edited to promote one view or another. Combining letterpress, drawing and sculpture, artist Mira Rojanasakul creates paper structures that trace the corruption of information as we struggle to distill functional truths from this world.

The MCBA Jerome Foundation Book Arts Mentorship is an artist development program aimed at introducing book arts disciplines to emerging artists whose primary medium is in another discipline, demonstrating the ever-evolving and inclusive nature of the book arts. This exhibition represents the culmination of a journey of learning, experimenting with traditional methods, expanding concepts through contemporary techniques, and integrating previous expertise with fresh knowledge. 57 applications were received for the Mentorship Program Series II; three jurors, representing a broad spectrum of disciplines, narrowed the field to six recipients. Jurors for Mentorship Series II were: Erica Spitzer Rasmussen, textile artist and professor of art at Metropolitan State University; Cecilia Ramon, sculptor, University of Minnesota Duluth faculty member and Book Arts Mentorship Series I recipient; and Michael Robins, Executive Producing Director of Illusion Theater. Artist mentors for Series II were Bill Moran, Jana Pullman and Jody Williams.

The Jerome Foundation has been an instrumental partner with MCBA in opening doors for emerging book artists in Minnesota and supporting the creation of new work.

 

About the Book Arts Mentorship

The Book Arts Mentorship is an artist development program aimed at introducing book arts to emerging artists whose primary medium is in another discipline.

Mentorships are awarded biannually to six artists selected from the following disciplines:

• Literary arts (poetry, spoken word, fiction and creative nonfiction)
• Visual Arts (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, new media)
• Music (composing)
• Film and video (video/filmmakers, animation)
• Theater (playwriting)
• Dance (choreography)

Only originating artists in these disciplines are eligible for Jerome support; musicians, actors, directors, dancers, screenwriters and other such categories are not eligible.

Artists selected for the Book Arts Mentorship will receive:

• Funding for the purchase of materials and to supplement living or travel costs
  (subject to state and federal income tax guidelines)
• Three months of basic book arts training at MCBA
• Free tuition to participate in up to three workshops offered by MCBA through its regular adult education schedule (artist pays only supply fees)
• The ability to meet regularly with a mentor and attend master classes that provide contextual and historical foundations for book arts
• One year free membership to MCBA
• Recognition through a culminating exhibition in MCBA’s main gallery
  

Eligibility

Applications must be submitted by emerging artists. An "emerging artist" is generally defined as an artist who shows significant potential, yet has not received a commensurate amount of professional recognition regardless of age or recognition in other fields. MCBA and the Jerome Foundation reserve the right to review and determine any applicant status as "emerging" or "established".

Applicants must reside in Minnesota and must have held legal residency in Minnesota for the preceding year.

You are not eligible to apply for the Book Arts Mentorship if you are:

• a student, full-time or part-time
• an MCBA artist-in-residence or staff member
• an artist who already uses book arts as a primary form for your creative expression
• an artist who is already well-established in your field of work
• a prior recipient of any MCBA / Jerome Book Arts Mentorship or Fellowship

 

If you have questions about the MCBA/Jerome Book Arts Mentorship, please contact Jeff Rathermel, MCBA artistic director.