June 27th, 2012
We have been working on a new digital project in Special Collections on the old periodical, Life, which was published between 1883 and 1936. It is not like the Life you may remember that was mostly photos. This older Life was like the New Yorker, with reviews, essays, stories, editorials, and best of all, cartoons, political and otherwise. In doing this project, we have discovered some truly original and wonderful artists that we want to share. So, over the next few posts, we will share a few. The first one is considered to be one of the most influential cartoonists of his time: T. S. Sullivant. However, most people never heard of him. He was considered to be a gag cartoonist and the creator of the modern caricature cartooning. If you want to read more about him, The Comics Journal Special Editions, Winter 2002, volume 1, has a great article about him written by Jim Woodring. This issue of Comics Journal is located in Special Collections.
T. S. Sullivant was a true pioneer in the field of cartooning. At a time when most American cartoonists were drawing fairly realistic looking characters and animals, Sullivant drew his figures with exaggerated facial and anatomical features. He inaugurated the big heads and big feet of modern caricature cartooning. Sullivant’s subjects were animals, cave men and women, Biblical characters, and ethnic groups, and his cartoons are as funny today as they were when they were written almost 100 years ago.
Thomas Sterling Sullivant was born in Columbus, Ohio. He may have studied art in Germany, where he lived for several years. He returned to the United States in 1885 and moved to Philadelphia where he studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Art with Thomas Eakins. In 1886, he sold his first cartoon. He soon was appearing in a number of periodicals, including Life. He continued to study with various artists, such as Edward Moran and E. D. Bensell. He utilized a pen and ink style that was meticulously cross-hatched, which was popular at the time. His cartoons were masterfully distorted figures of animals and stereotypical people referred to as “grotesque yet believable.” He also worked for a number of other periodicals and for William Randolph Hearst, but returned to Life in 1911 and contributed cartoons until his death in 1926. He is considered to be one of the most influential cartoonists of his time.
June 15th, 2012
Recently, we were lucky to find a few more publications by the Ashantilly Press of Darien, Georgia, for sale from rare book vendors and purchase them for the library. That leaves only a few more titles that were either printed by the Ashantilly Press, or designed by Bill Haynes, owner of the press, but printed somewhere else to complete our collection. The press produced some beautiful publications, done more as a labor of love than as a profit making venture. Haynes set the type and carved the woodcuts to illustrate each publication. He also printed publications for organizations such as churches, historical associations, community groups, etc. And he printed invitations and cards for himself and others.
The Ashantilly Press was named after the house, Ashantilly, built in 1820 by Thomas Spalding in Darien, Georgia. It became the property of the Haynes Family in 1918 and they rebuilt the house after a fire in the late 1930s. The press was founded in the mid 1950s. The first project was a broadside of the plan of Fort King George in 1955. His first book project, a reprint of Anchored Yesterdays, came shortly after that. It took him almost a year to design and print the book. The book was entered into the Southern Book Competition and won. Anchored Yesterdays is about the first 100 years of Savannah’s history told in 10 “watches.” This account of the early history of the city from the arrival of the first ship through the rise of importance of Savannah as a port is nicely designed and bound in paper covers. The book does not contain an edition statement, but was published in 1956.
Our Ashantilly Press Collection, MS 029, contains books, broadsides, cards, ephemera and other publication of the Ashantilly Press and other presses. The books were published between 1940 and 1991 and include books that William G. Haynes published at the Ashantilly Press, as well as those he illustrated or designed which were published by other presses. The collection also contains correspondence between William G. Haynes and Dr. Lawrence S. Thompson, former director of libraries at the University of Kentucky. The correspondence dates between 1966 and 1984. Also included is the acceptance speech presented by Haynes on accepting the Rock Howard Award in 1983.
Our three newest books are all poetry and, while they are all nicely done, one in particular is very beautiful: To Dwell in Sound, by Jean Reti. She was an Associate Professor of piano at the University of Georgia. She was married first to Austrian composer and musicologist, Rudolph Reti, and after his death, married artist, W. Stanton Forbes. Her beautifully produced book of poetry is dedicated to the memory of Rudolph Reti. Haynes decorated each part with a beautiful historiated initial in a deep blue. The paper he used was handmade Tovil with a watermark. The book was published in an edition of 100, the library’s copy is 72.
Over a span of several years, the press printed thirty titles, the last in 1991. Haynes died in 2001, leaving the house, Ashantilly, and his printing press to his foundation, the Ashantilly Center, which hosts environmental, cultural, and historic events. The press is being restored and soon will be offering workshops.
June 7th, 2012
A couple of years ago, we ordered an interesting artists’ book by a cooperative of Mayan men and women in Chiapas, Mexico, called The Portable Mayan Altar. In a box shaped like a Mayan thatched roof hut with its blend of art, poetry, magic, and culture, it was an instant hit. The vendor’s information mentioned that the cooperative was called Taller Leñateros, and it was founded by Ambar Past. A little research on the internet helped us to find that Ambar Past was an American who went to Mexico as a teacher of natural dye techniques for the National Indian Institute. She traveled to remote areas, eventually making her home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the highlands of Chiapas. There she founded a graphic arts collective, Taller Leñateros, which makes paper and books.
Part of her work for the past 30 years has been collecting, recording, and translating Tzotsil poetry and music, and collaborating on bilingual anthologies published by Taller Leñateros. The collective recycles a variety of materials to make handmade paper, some of which is sculpted into various sculptural shapes as book covers. They also silk-screen the illustrations for the books, then print and bind the books.
We decided to further explore the publications of this seemingly unlikely publisher of artists books and recently purchased two more. Here is a little about each of them:
Incantations by Mayan Women, Fathermothers of the Book: Ámbar Past with Xun Okotz and Xpetra Ernándes.
OVER A HUNDRED AND FIFTY PEOPLE COLLABORATED to write, illustrate, and create this book, among them singers, seers, witchwives, washer women, sugar beer brewers, conjurers, native bearers, prayer makers, soothsayers, sorceresses, dyers, diviners, hired mourners, spinners, shepherdesses, babysitters, millers, maids, bookbinders, spellbinders, cornharvesters, great-grandmothers, sharecroppers, necromancers, exorcists, coffee pickers, potters, crazy women, midwives, planters, woodlanders, bonesetters, troublemakers, spiritualists, mothers-in-law, peddlers, gravediggers, fireworks makers, drinkers, hags, beggars, bakers, basket weavers, shamanesses, liars, computers, comagres, sculptresses, muses, and even men. We have made this book “as we make our children,” in the words of Petú Xantis, “with the strength of our flesh and the birds of our heart.
From “Notes on the Creators” essay in the book. The three-dimensional cover is modeled after the face of Kaxail, Mayan goddess of the wilderness, and made of recycled cardboard mixed with corn silk and coffee. The book itself is in several parts. The incantations are in English and in Tzotzil. There are over 70 pages of original silkscreen illustrations by Mayan painters and it is estimated that the book took 30 years to create.
Portable Mayan altar: pocket books of Mayan spells, translation from Tzotzil to English by Ámbar Past.
A box shaped like a traditional Mayan house, holds the altar and its accessories: candles, candleholders, incense and burner, and three books. The books, Hex to Kill the Unfaithful Man, Mayan Love Charms, and Magic for a Long Life, are excerpted from Incantations by Mayan Women.
The books, small and bound in paper covered boards, have beautifully marbled end leaves and silk screened illustrations. The spells and charms are in both English and Tzotzil. Each book has a ribbon bookmark attached to aid in finding your favorite spell, like the spell to keep the dog from barking at your boyfriend.
Bolom Chon, [translation and texts in English, Ámbar Past with Sara Miranda and Tom Slingsby ; texts in Tzotzil Maya [by] Maria Tzu, Rominka Vet and Maruch Méndes Péres].
This vibrant book about the jaguar is marketed as a children’s book, but it is really for anyone. The text in both English and Tzotzil, is inspired by the song, Bolom Chon, about a magical creature. It has original silkscreened illustrations by Mayan artists and a jaguar with maguey fiber whiskers pop-up centerfold. Included is a CD recording of Tzotzil children singing with their grandmother. The cover, printed on an 1895 era letterpress, is made from recycled cardboard mixed with coffee. According to the Taller Leñateros: “The cover was stepped on by the Bolom Chon so its footprints remained as a testimony of its passing through the world.” It comes housed in a colorful jaguar case.
May 23rd, 2012
We received a number of new books artists’ books in Special Collections this spring. Several of these deal with events in the Middle East. Among them are 5 books by 4 artists whose books were made in response to a project by the Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition. The project asked artists create books that would commemorate the loss of life and culture on March 5, 2007 on Al-Mutanabbi Street. On that day in Baghdad, a car bomb exploded on the street heavily populated by booksellers, killing 30 people, injuring 100, and propelling the contents of the book stalls, stationers, cafes, and tobacco shops into a chaotic whirl. The winding street, named after the famed 10th Century classical Arab poet, Al- Mutanabbi, has been heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community. The Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition issued a call to book artists to work on a project to “re-assemble” some of the “inventory” of the reading material that was lost. Each Book Artist entering the project was asked to complete and donate three books (or other paper material) in the course of a year, ending in 2012. The books were to contain of both memory and future of what was lost. They were to reflect the strength and fragility of books, and also speak to the endurance of the ideas within them.
This call to book artists commenced on September 1st, 2010 and ran until September 1st, 2011. Book artists have one year from the date they respond to the call to complete their work of three books. Some of the books will not be finished until September of 2012. One complete set of the books will be donated to the Iraq National Library. The other two sets will be used in conjunction with shows of the broadsides as well as in shows of their own to raise funds for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The books at the Jen Library’s Special Collections include:
Not a Straight Line By Emily Martin, Iowa City, Iowa: Naughty Dog Press, 2011. Edition of 20.
“To read Not a Straight Line viewers must find their way along the linked books that turn this way and that, much as a meandering street would.”
Al Mutanabbi Street, March 5, 2007 By Art Hazelwood, San Francisco: Eastside Editions, 2011. Edition of 16.
“My book, starts with an image of the booksellers street. The next page begins a foldout which begins with the explosion in a death head cloud. Books flying are labeled with different bookseller areas of the world.”
Project Al-Mutanabbi Street, By Christine Kermaire, Charleroi, Belgium, 2011-2012
Series of three books:
Phase 1, Resilience of Al-Mutanabbi Street , edition of 300.
Artists statement “ …Any sound philosophy is mortally-stricken…” ( Immanuel Kant, Philosopher 1724-1804) With this sentence, Kant attempts to demonstrate that a sound philosophy must evolve, and not to persist into assertions. My goal was to (make) translate a philosopher “ banned “ in certain countries.
Phase 2, Memory of Al-Mutanabbi Street , edition of 300.
Names of people who were killed in the car bombing, inscribed around a endless screw and pulled by a red thread, vital lead. The graphics were inspired by the lintels of wood carving (“ham yo“) placed at the front of the houses to protect against “the wrong spirits” (Asia).
Phase 3, Future of Al-Mutanabbi Street, not yet published
Fractured Landscapes By Karen Kunc, Avoca, Nebraska: Blue Heron Press , 2011. Edition of 25.
Artists statement: “Various worn handset types are paired with excerpts from admired authors….The seeds of this book began four years ago in residency in NYC and continued slowly in Avoca, Nebraska.”
From the colophon: “In Memoriam, to those lost in disasters and tragedies everyday, everywhere. And to those left behind. Ever changed.”
April 27th, 2012
You may have seen some of Brian Dettmer’s work on the internet. He does amazing things with books. He cuts, carves, bends, folds, rolls, and glues books into new sculptural, unimagined shapes. He alters books such as dated reference books to intricately carved statements, providing a look into the book beyond what we normally see.
Recently, the Jen Library purchased one of Dettmer’s altered books, titled Geomorphology. According to Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged (found online), Geomorphology is the branch of geology that is concerned with the structure, origin, and development of the topographical features of the earth’s surface.
Brian Dettmer was born in 1974 and raised in Naperville, Illinois. He earned a BA in fine arts from Columbia College Chicago in 1997. Following graduation, he worked as and artist and and graphic designer in the Chicago area. In 2006, Dettmer moved with his wife to establish a studio in Atlanta. Design Boom took a look at his studio in 2009.
Explanation of Process
In this work I begin with an existing book and seal its edges, creating an enclosed vessel full of unearthed potential. I cut into the surface of the book and dissect through it from the front. I work with knives, tweezers and surgical tools to carve one page at a time, exposing each layer while cutting around ideas and images of interest. Nothing inside the books is relocated or implanted, only removed. Images and ideas are revealed to expose alternate histories and memories. My work is a collaboration with the existing material and its past creators and the completed pieces expose new relationships of the book’s internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception. (Source)
For a look at more of Dettmer’s work, please visit his website.
April 19th, 2012
Recently, the Jen Library made a big decision to purchase a beautiful facsimile copy of The Book of Kells. A copy had become available in Ireland at a very good price and we thought it would be an excellent addition to our collection.
The edition we purchased was published by Faksimile Verlag Luzern, 1990 and came with a commentary, which, unfortunately for us, is in German. It took 10 years to make this facsimile to the exacting specifications. There is a great article about making the facsimile in the New York Times. It was created in a limited edition of 1,480 copies.
The Book of Kells was compiled on the Scottish island of Iona around the end of the 8th century. The Irish monks were dedicated to spreading Christianity throughout Europe. Monasteries became important spiritual centers of Europe. Iona was attacked in 806 by Vikings and it is thought that the monks fled with the manuscript to Ireland.
The manuscript was written on vellum, which is made of calfskin. Vellum is expensive and time-consuming to prepare, but provides a durable and smooth writing surface. The book consists of the Four Gospels, with additions of canonical tables and some property deeds for the Kells monastery. The book is thought to have originally had a jeweled cover, but the book was stolen in the 11th century. The cover was ripped from the book and has never been found, but 680 individual pages survived. The book is lavishly illustrated only two pages that lack any artistic ornamentation. There are a number of pages that are entirely decorated with very little text, including the portrait pages and the “carpet” pages.
The book was buried for almost 3 months to protect it from thieves and invaders, but was dug up and resided at Kells monastery until it was taken to Dublin during the reign of Cromwell when monasteries were closed. In 1661, it was donated by the Bishop of Meath to Trinity College, where it still resides today.
If you want to see a beautifully animated film on the making of the Book of Kells after it arrived from Iona, see the Secret of Kells. It is in our library collection, but also available online for free. The 12th century priest, Gerald of Wales, called the Book of Kells “the work of an angel, and not of a man”. It is onsidered one of the most important medieval illuminated manuscripts; few other books express such symbolic and magical power.
April 3rd, 2012
Its time for the Jen Library’s Spring Open House. This year we are targeting the School of Communication Arts. It is a hands-on experience for students, professors, and staff to explore our amazing collections! We will be displaying periodicals and books, digital images, databases, and the DVD circulating collection. Special Collections will participate with artists’ books, some of our graphic fiction and non-fiction, and other rare and unique materials. We will also get out some of the fabulous artwork from the Don Bluth Collection of Animation. Students will be able to play trivia, win prizes, and find inspiration in a totally fun way. Also, you will be able to tell us if there are materials you want to suggest for our collection.
Everything happens on the 3rd floor on Wednesday, April 11, from 3 to 7 PM. Even if you are not in the School of Communications, you are welcome to come!
March 30th, 2012
When we find new and interesting things in the Don Bluth Collection of Animation, we are always excited to share them. During spring break our graduate student assistant, Ryan Long, worked tirelessly to process boxes upon boxes of merchandise, only stopping when she ran out of archival boxes. With Ryan’s help, we selected several items from Anastasia to display, including books, a press kit, and even a bubble-bath bottle. You can see these items through our windows or as always, please come in to take a better look!
March 27th, 2012
The 3rd Annual Savannah International Animation Festival will take place at the Coastal Georgia Center at 305 Fahm Street in Savannah, Georgia on April 13 to 14, 2012. The Festival will showcase independent, professional, and student animation, as well as panel discussions, workshops, and presentations. The Festival, now an annual event, is sponsored by the Animation Hall Of Fame, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded by Hal and Nancy Miles. Hal Miles also is a professor teaching visual effects and animation at SCAD.
Included will be a mix of professionals and historians from the fields of animation, visual effects, and gaming. Also promised is a guest presentation by one of the animation world’s leading creators.
The Jen Library’s Don Bluth Collection of Animation will be represented in a short presentation by yours truly. I am so honored to be included in the Festival! Admission is open to everyone, children and adults and there is even a Free Cartoons and Cookies event Saturday morning, April 14, at 9:00 AM. Visit their website to see what else is going on! Savannah International Animation Festival.
March 12th, 2012
Recently, the Jen Library Special Collections department had the opportunity to acquire a small collection of books by Tadanori Yokoo. If you are not familiar with his work, Yokoo is a gifted Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, painter, and printmaker born in 1936. He has designed books, prints, posters, animation, album covers, theater sets, watches, and a wealth of other items. His work draws on a number of different art movements such as American Pop Art, Surrealism, Dada, and contemporary and traditional Japanese art forms such as ukiyo-o woodblock prints. He uses collage techniques and often mixes photography with illustration.
While he has created a huge body of work, he is probably best known for his posters. The one above was one of his early works and much of the imagery contained within became emblematic of the “Yokoo style”. This image is found on page 23 of Tadanori Yokoo: all Things in the Universe, published in 2002. He is well known in Japan, but less well known in the west. He incorporates both eastern and western pop culture imagery in his compositions.
Here are some of the titles in our collection. While most of them are written in Japanese, they are image heavy and very nicely designed:
Tadanori Yokoo : all things in the universe. ND1059 .Y56 A4 2002
Bōkenʼō, Yokoo Tadanori = Tadanori Yokoo be adventurous! ND1059.Y56 A4 2008
Yokoo Tadanori zen kaiga = Tadanori Yokoo. ND1059 .Y56 A4 1996 folio
Yokoo Tadanori dennō kānibaru. ND1059.Y56 A4 1994
Yokoo Tadanori mikazuki ryokō = Crescent carnival in New Orleans.
ND1049 .Y56 A35 1995
Bigeikō / Tsutsui Yasutaka saku. PL862.S77 B54 1981
There is also a book by him about a collection of hundreds of postcards of waterfall collected and compiled by Yokoo.
Waterfall Rapture:Postcards of falling water my addiction, my collection, my edition. N8261 .W274 Y56 1996