The Book as Art v. 8.0: Infinity

Presented by the Decatur Arts Alliance

Decatur, Georgia

August 28–October 17, 2020

The Decatur Arts Alliance (DAA) presents the eighth edition of the juried exhibition of artists’ books, The Book as Art, August 28–October 17, 2020. This edition will be installed once again at the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library. The show’s dates encompass the AJC-Decatur Book Festival, which takes place each Labor Day weekend throughout the City of Decatur, and also will be an event of the Guild of Book Workers Standards of Excellence Seminar in Decatur, October 15–17. The DAA will sponsor a festive opening on Friday, August 28, 2020, as well as a Closing Reception October 16.

Entries will be open April 8–May 29, 2020 on callforentry.org.

Held in the hand, a book can be a source of stability in unsettled times. Tactile and olfactory, the black and white pages conjure emotions and images that endure longer than flickering light on small screens. From tablet to folio, papyrus to scroll, song to psalm—all are created as a concept that becomes thought, becomes, word, becomes book, becomes sculpture. These objects, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive. The objects in this exhibition will interpret the concept of the book and invite the viewer to look beyond the printed page to where ideas, words, and symbols are transformed and are transfigurative. They are expressive, expansive and iconic. They have become form, and are infinite.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we realize that shipping artwork may take longer than expected, be more expensive than planned, or may not be accessible to some artists at this time. We welcome international artists to submit works for consideration, but be cautious of the potential for added complications to the entry process. 

The Book as Art v. 8.0: Infinity’s location at the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library is just off the Decatur Square, ideally accessible to the more than 85,000 attendees at the Festival as well as to visitors throughout the run of the show.

We are interested in showcasing beautifully made volumes, sculptural and conceptual interpretations, and one-of-a-kind approaches to the book format. We also encourage artists to submit wall-hung interpretations.

EVENTS

Several events are planned throughout the run of the show. The DAA will sponsor an opening and juror’s talk on August 28. The library is planning programming including a White Glove Night connected to the closing party on October 16, when viewers can enjoy close-up examination of the artwork and hear selected artists discuss their work. We encourage exhibiting artists to attend these functions when possible.

The Jurors:

Bexx Caswell-Olson has more than ten years’ experience in the preservation and conservation field, and previously served as Special Collections Conservator at Michigan State University. She has operated her own business, White Sparrow Bindery, since 2008. She confers with NEDCC clients to develop appropriate book conservation treatment proposals and manages the Center’s team of talented book conservators. She is an approved Assessor for the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program through the American Institute for Conservation.

                  Caswell-Olson earned a Certificate in Bookbinding from the North Bennet Street School, an MS in Library Science with a focus on Preservation Management from Simmons College, and a BA in Non-fiction Writing and Journalism from Eugene Lang College, New School University. She is the current president of the Guild of Book Workers and a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

Ann Kresge is an internationally exhibited book artist and printmaker. Her original prints and artists' books are in museum, university, and gallery collections around the world. Collections include Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty Center, Victoria and Albert Museum, Chicago Art Institute, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Yale University, and the Library of Congress. She has been an arts instructor at Bard College and SUNY New Paltz, as well as a visiting artist at Sarah Lawrence University, SUNY Oswego, and the University of Connecticut. She served as the Program Director of Women’s Studio Workshop.  Artist In Residencies include McDowell Colony, Ucross Foundation, Djerassi Resident Artist Program, Atelier 17 (Paris), Women’s Studio Workshop, and Foundacion ‘ace (Buenos Aires). Grants include New York Foundation for the Arts, Grace Richardson Trust, the Ford Family Foundation, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts Library Fellows Grant. Her work in video and interart collaborations with musicians and dancers has toured in Mexico, China, Europe and the United States. Kresge has a BA in Studio Art from Smith College and an MFA in Printmaking  from Pratt Institute.

Joe Sanders’ creative production focuses on printmaking, papermaking and handmade books, while exploring intersections of visual art, mythology, and natural history. Sanders holds a BFA degree with Distinction from Florida State University, and an MFA degree from Arizona State University. He assisted at Rolling Stone Press in Atlanta before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia in Athens, where he served as Professor and Chair of Printmaking, Gallery Director, and Graduate Program Coordinator. He served as vice-president and president of SGC (now SGC International) and editor of Graphic Impressions. He returned to Florida State University as professor and chair of the Art Department before serving as professor and Alan F. Rothschild Distinguished Chair of the Art Department at Columbus State University. He served on the executive board of Pasaquan, and is now on the executive board of the Atlanta Printmakers Studio. Other projects have included curating MATRIX: Contemporary Printmaking at the Museum of Fine Arts (MOFA) at FSU, and jurying numerous exhibitions. Sanders divides his time between studios in Columbus, Georgia, and Dog Island, Florida. His work has been in many national printmaking and book arts projects and exhibitions, and may be found in numerous museum and library collections.

AWARDS

First Place Award -                                     $1000.00
Second Place Award -                                  $700.00
Third Place Award -                                      $500.00
Merit Award -                                                $100.00

Purchase awards are being solicited.
An online catalogue is anticipated.

 SALE OF ART
Sales are encouraged. The DAA handles all sales and collects a 25% commission on all artwork sold as a result of this exhibition. All artwork for sale must be priced by the artist and so stated in the online entry. Please be sure to include the 25% commission for the DAA in your price. The Georgia sales tax will be added at the point of sale.

AGREEMENT

Submitting an entry form to this exhibition through Call for Entries (www.callforentry.org) constitutes an agreement on the part of the artist with all conditions set forth in this prospectus. No work accepted for the exhibition may be withdrawn before the close of the exhibition. After acceptance, the artist cannot substitute another work for the one accepted or raise the sales price.                 

The Decatur Arts Alliance reserves the right to refuse to install any work that, upon arrival at the Library, differs markedly from the images submitted or that does not, for any reason, meet the exhibition’s standards of excellence.                 

By submitting images of your work, you give permission to the Decatur Arts Alliance to use the images for publicity in the organizations’ websites, digital publications, press releases, and an online catalogue of the exhibition.

LIABILITY
All reasonable precautions will be taken to ensure protection of submitted work upon receipt. Work will be insured for the duration of the exhibition. No liability can be assumed by the DAA during storage or by sponsors or personnel connected to the exhibition for damage incurred or loss of work while in transit. Artists are advised to arrange their own shipping insurance.

ELIGIBILITY
Artists are invited to enter original or limited edition original or altered books. Participating items will be selected from submitted entries by a panel of three jurors on the basis of creative excellence and quality of execution. All works must be the work of the entering artist. Collaborative projects are eligible, and names of all participating artists should be included in the statement or description of the work.

HOW TO ENTER:

All entries will be submitted digitally through www.callforentry.org. (CaFÉ)
• If you have not registered previously with CaFÉ, setting up your portfolio is free of charge. There is a $30.00 charge for entering up to three artworks in this exhibition, with up to five images per work. Participants may enter up to three pieces for one fee. The first entry will be paid by credit card, and entrants will use a coupon for (optional) second and third entries that are included in the entry fee. Directions for this process are included in the text of the entry forms.                  

• CaFÉ requires that all images conform to a specific format. The DAA encourages all entrants to review the instructions and tutorials for formatting images and entering before beginning the actual entry process.                 

• Entries will be active on the CaFÉ website April 8–May 29, 2020, and all entries must be completed by midnight MST on May 29.

• Instructions for submitting entries to The Book as Art can be accessed through the CaFÉ home page (www.callforentry.org/) in the scrolling listings under CaFÉ Listings, as well as through this Call for Entries. Please follow directions carefully. The Call will be active on April 6, 2020.

• For technical assistance with your entry, please see www.callforentry.org/cafehelp.phtml, or contact cafe@westaf.org.

• For questions about exhibition guidelines, please contact admin@decaturartsalliance.org.

• Please retain a copy of the information you provide on the entry form.

• Notification of acceptance will be made via email no later than Friday, July 3, 2020.

Submissions will include the following:
• Contact information including mailing address, telephone number, email address, and website address (if applicable)

• Title of each work submitted and year the work was completed

• Brief statement about the work. This may include descriptive material. Limit to 75 words.

• Up to five images of each work submitted for jurying. The five images may include one video. If the work is in standard book format it must include an image of the book closed and one of the book opened. If applicable, it should include an image of how the work is presented. Other detailed images are optional, but all submitted images must be formatted to the specifications outlined on the CaFÉ website. (www.callforentry.org/image_prep.phtml#resources). *

*By submitting images of your work, you give permission to the Decatur Arts Alliance to use the images for publicity in the organizations’ websites, digital publications, press releases, DAA publications (both print and electronic), and an online catalogue of the exhibition.

• Information on size of the edition (i.e., whether this is a one-of-a-kind piece or one of a limited edition)

 • Image list titled to correspond to the portfolio images submitted. Please include full photography credits as well as title, dimensions, and description of each work.

• Presentation/installation requirements for the work submitted, including any special fixtures required.

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE
Notification of acceptance will be made by email only, to the email address provided on the application, no later than July 3, 2020. Instructions for shipment and retrieval of artwork will be included. Applicants not chosen will also be notified. No phone calls, please.                 

Images of accepted work will be retained by the DAA for archival purposes. The exhibition will hang from August 28 through October 17, 2020, in the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, Georgia.

 The organizers:

Decatur Arts Alliance (DAA) is a nonprofit partnership of artists, business owners, residents and government dedicated to supporting and enhancing the arts in the City of Decatur. Founded in 1989, the Alliance sponsors the annual Decatur Arts Festival, is a founding sponsor of the AJC Decatur Book Festival, and in 2020 continues the success of The Book as Art that began as an event of the book festival. The DAA provides a collaborative environment to coordinate the interests of artists, gallery owners, theater groups, dance groups and performance venues within the city; and helps make Decatur home to a strong arts community. The Decatur Arts Alliance is supported by membership, along with proceeds from the Decatur Arts Festival and the Decatur Wine Festival. To contact the Decatur Arts Alliance call 404-371-9583, email admin@decaturartsalliance.org, or visit www.decaturartsalliance.org.

The Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library and the Georgia Center for the Book are located at 215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, Georgia 30030. For information, visit http://dekalblibrary.org/branches/deca, and http://dekalblibrary.org/, or call 404.370.3070.

The Place:

The City of Decatur, Georgia is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Atlanta’s intown communities and near the metro area suburbs. With more than 200 shops and restaurants in commercial districts around the Square and in historic Oakhurst Village, Decatur is a popular shopping, dining, entertainment, and arts destination. Nineteen thousand residents live in Decatur’s quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods and downtown condominiums, and as the DeKalb County seat, this thriving commercial community is the epicenter of county business. www.Decaturga.com

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria