Coming soon to MCBA:

Directed: The Intersection of Book, Film and Visual Narrative
May 17 - August 4, 2013
MCBA Star Tribune Foundation Gallery

Opening reception: Friday, May 17; 6-9pm
Book Art Biennial
and The MCBA Prize Gala: Saturday, July 27

Directed: The Intersection of Book, Film and Visual Narrative explores in depth the common territory of two engaging artistic practices: book arts and film. Historically as well as in contemporary practice, artists blur and perforate the boundaries between these two disciplines, both of which share a foundation of sequential visual narrative.

Work by over 70 artists will be featured, representing a diverse cross-section of contemporary work from across disciplines and around the world. The exhibition also includes many influential artists' books on loan from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Carleton College, and the Walker Art Center's Rosemary Furtak Collection, including works by Ed Ruscha, Jim Goldberg, Marcel Broodthaers, John Baldessari, Andy Warhol, Christian Boltanski, Bruce Nauman, Michael Snow, Mason Douglas Williams, Gilbert & George, and Annette Messager. Directed is presented as part of Book Art Biennial 2013.

Coordinated exhibitions:

Flip Off
May 17 - July 28, 2013 in the Open Book Cowles Literary Commons

The Art of Saul Bass
May 17 - August 4, 2013 in the Open Book Lobby Gallery (walls)

Book/Film/Metaphor: Fahrenheit 451
May 17 - July 14, 2013
in the Open Book Lobby Gallery (cases)

The MCBA Prize 2013 Finalists
July 19 - August 4, 2013
in the Open Book Lobby Gallery (cases)

For more information, visit the main exhibitions page.

 

 

 

Jes Lee Shimek: digital dreams of where you are
June 14 - August 4, 2013
Lerner Bindery Gallery

Opening reception: Tuesday, June 25; 5-8pm

New work by MCBA Co-op artist Jes Lee Shimek.

 

 

 


Parts of a Whole: New Work from MCBA's Artist Community
August 16 - October 20, 2013
MCBA Star Tribune Foundation Gallery

Opening reception: Friday, August 16; 6-9pm

MCBA presents an exhibition of new work by members of our artist community -- faculty, co-op members, past artists-in-residence, fellowship and mentorship grant recipients, current and former staff and board members, and others -- curated by the MCBA Artist Cooperative.

These talented artists demonstrate their innovative approaches, creative skills and diversity of styles in Parts of a Whole. A variety of artists' books, broadsides, prints and other bookish artistic endeavours will be on view from this vibrant and eclectic group.

 

 



Lewis Koch: Bomber, a chance unwinding
August 16 - November 9, 2013
Open Book Lobby Gallery

Opening reception: Friday, August 16; 6-9pm (in conjunction with opening of Parts of a Whole)
Artist talk: Thursday, November 7; 7pm in the Open Book Performance Hall

Lewis Koch uses photography, found images, maps and text to engage in a critical response to contemporary life and politics. In Bomber, he bears witness to a World War II bomber crash site above the treeline in Wyoming's Cloud Peak Wilderness, a remote area that Koch describes as "almost inconceivably stark and humbling." Linking his own photographs of the site with images from documentary films, details of period maps, and poetry, this installation is a reflection on a particular tragedy as well as a metaphor for the societal devastation and environmental destruction caused by war.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and our nation is still grappling with the process of understanding and memorializing the site of the former World Trade Center. Koch’s exploration of this World War II crash site is a meditation on the ultimate futility of war, as he sees it, and on the importance of memory, grieving, and healing.

In reflecting upon these separate but inextricably linked tragedies -- the deaths of the soldiers whose B-17 crashed on what is now known as Bomber Mountain, and the immense loss of life and environmental impact in Europe and the Pacific, where these bombers were deployed -- Koch’s photographs and text speak to both sides of the conflict and, by extension, to anyone touched by war and its aftermath. At a time of increasingly narrow and shrill public discourse, his work invites us to participate in a moving and substantive dialogue.

Lewis Koch (Madison, WI) uses photography, text, architecture and found objects to call attention to the often unremarked upon elements of everyday life. Embedded in various aspects of his work is a critique of the long-held concept that war is an acceptable response to conflict. His projects have been shown in garages, on kiosks and billboards, as well as in museums and galleries, with solo exhibitions in New York, London, Brussels, Seoul, Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere. His photographs and assemblages are in permanent collections throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, and Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1994, Koch was awarded a Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Arts from the Wisconsin Arts Board, and has received grants from the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and regional arts agencies. A previous text-based project, When Things Dream, was the third installation in Koch’s Garage Trilogy. It can be seen on the web as Garageography 3.0.7, a virtual tour. Developed when he was an artist-in-residence at Copenhagen’s Fotografisk Center, the web project Touchless Automatic Wonder provides an overview of Koch’s work prior to 2001, and was the precedent for his recent book by the same title.

 

 

 

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
is open to the public seven days a week:
Mon, Weds-Sat: 10am-5pm
Tues: 10am-9pm
Sun: 12-4pm

Minnesota Center for Book Arts is located in
the Open Book Building in downtown Minneapolis;
1011 Washington Ave S, First Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612 215 2520
Fax: 612 215 2545
Email: mcba@mnbookarts.org

© 2013 Minnesota Center for Book Arts