2017 Minnesota Book Artist Award

2016 Minnesota Book Artist Award: Works by Steven McCarthy
January 20 – March 26
Open Book Cowles Literary Commons

Opening reception Friday, February 10; 5:30pm – 7:30pm

This annual award, presented by Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) and the Minnesota Book Awards, and sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group, recognizes a Minnesota book artist or book artist collaborative group for excellence of a new artistic work, demonstrated proficiency and quality in the book arts through their body of work, as well as an ongoing commitment and significant contributions to Minnesota’s book arts community.

McCarthy’s award-winning piece is a mobile display unit for 22 altered books selected from Little Free Libraries in the Twin Cities. Using various techniques – collage, rebinding, cutting, folding, tearing, gluing – the artist altered the books to create a collection in which throwaway items are reborn as a part of a larger library narrative. Each book includes a small pamphlet with a pin-pointed map and photos of the library structure and sponsoring house. The entire collection is housed in custom-built oak and pine display case with felt-lined drawers.

McCarthy is a professor of graphic design at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. His long-standing interest in theories of design authorship – as both scholar and practitioner – has led to lectures, exhibits, publications and grant-funded research on six continents. His book on the topic, The Designer As… Author, Producer, Activist, Entrepreneur, Curator and Collaborator: New Models for Communicating was published in 2013 by BIS, Amsterdam. McCarthy has been in more than 125 juried and invitational exhibitions and his artist’s books are in prestigious collections. He serves on the board of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Visit his website.

For more information on Steven and to view past winners, please visit our Minnesota Book Artist Award page.