The Three Books: Artist's Books based on artifacts from the Special Collections of the Providence Public Library
Monday, June 21 - Monday, July 19, 2010 Opening Reception June 21, 5:30-8:30pm
Artist Talk 6pm, Barnard Room, 3rd floor
Providence Public Library Special Collections 150 Empire Street Providence RI 02903
The Three Books exhibition will present three artist's books conceived and made by Agata Michalowska. Each of the books is based on a different artifact from the Special Collections of the Providence Public Library.
The project is composed of The Book of Time, The Book of Senses and The Book of Passing. The first speaks of the passage of time, and is based on Edmond Halley's Astronomical Tables with Precepts from 1752. It touches upon the human need to systematize the world and the invention of the abstract notion of time. The second is a celebration of the sense of touch, its reference being the French embossed book for the blind Notice Historique sur l'Instruction des Jeunes Aveugles (Sébastien Guillié, 1819). The book was created using a Braille writing kit found at the library. The pages are filled with a texture that codes an intimate text. The third is a meditation on mortality inspired by the nineteenth century portraits found in the glass negatives collection. The artist created photographic prints in which the subjects seem to emerge from deep shadow, the depths of time and memory. They are an evidence of a world that no longer exists.
The books were crafted at the AS220 Community Printshop and AS220 Paul Krot Community Darkroom. Each book is an edition of three. One set of the books will be donated to the Special Collections and available to view by any visitor to the collections.
The aim of The Three Books is to bring relevance to the artifacts from the Special Collections. Each book is a subjective visual reinterpretation of a historical record. The artist is interested in the moment of translation: what remains of the original source, what is lost and the distortions that occur in the process. Through the contemporary translation of their meaning, Michalowska points towards the important place the artifacts still occupy in the society. They document the development of ideas and theories, providing a point of reference.
The artist's books will be exhibited alongside the artifacts so that the relationship between them is understood by the viewer.
A brochure will accompany the exhibition. It contains information about the artifacts and well as information that points to the conceptual framework that guided the artist's interpretation of these historical objects. The brochure is free of charge and available to all visitors.
During the reception Michalowska will speak about the research that was the basis of The Three Books and of the process of reinterpretation of historical data. The artist will describe the ways in which she found personal meaning in the seemingly objective artifacts.
Agata Michalowska (RISD 07) is an artist, printmaker and curator. She is a member of the AS220 Community Printshop. Michalowska recently received a Project Grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for The Three Books project.
The Special Collections department houses over 40,000 books, posters, pamphlets, photographs, broadsides, manuscripts, and other artifacts in an attempt to preserve, augment, and provide public access to these collections.
For more information about this free event, please contact:
Agata Michalowska artist, The Three Books project 401-527-1240 agata.michalowska@gmail.com
Richard J. Ring Special Collections Librarian 401-455-8021 rring@provlib.org