The Book as Art V. 10: Transformation is the tenth edition of an art show celebrating books: objects that, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive. 

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.

With Transformation, we are engaging artists to look inward and outward. To see growth and loss, and to walk the line between comfort and confrontation. How is the world, society, nature, and even humanity transformed by reading, literature, and art? What is the impetus that causes the transformation, and what emerges on the other side?

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 transfigured. It is in the hands of these artists, these wordsmiths, that the simple becomes the sublime.               

The Book as Art series seeks to showcase 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.

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 encourage awareness of the potential for added complications to the entry process. 

EVENTS

Several events are planned throughout the run of the show. The Georgia Center for the Book inaugurated a series of virtual tours of the exhibition, artist talks, and discussions in 2020 that will be continued in 2022. Through these presentations, artists were able to talk in depth about their books, and lead us on virtual tours through their volumes. You can review these presentations at bookasart.com, and on the Georgia Center for the Book’s YouTube channel. We encourage exhibiting artists to volunteer for these opportunities to showcase their work.

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.

AWARDS
First Place Award -                                     $1000.00
Second Place Award -                                  $700.00
Third Place Award -                                      $500.00

Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archive & Rare Book Library Purchase Prize                     Up to $2000.00

Dorothy Moye Memorial Award -                       TBA

The Jurors:
Georgia Deal is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Printmaking and Papermaking Program at the Corcoran School of Art & Design of George Washington University in Washington DC. Former teaching experience is at Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, NY, and as Resident Printmaker at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum (then, the NCFA). Grants include Maryland Individual Artist Grants, the Washington Project for the Arts, and NY State Council of the Arts. Workshops abroad include the University of Georgia’s Study Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos, Greece, the Santa Reparata School, Florence, Italy, and in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. U.S. workshops include the Penland School of Crafts, NC, the Paper & Book Intensive, MI, Arrowmont School,TN and the Haystack School in Maine. Her work is in collections including the Philadelphia Museum, the Library of Congress, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Yale University Library amongst others. She currently lives in Asheville, NC and is proprietor of the papermaking studio, Swannanoa Paper. This past year, she was invited as Guest Editor of Handpapermaking Magazine, featuring prints and handmade paper.

Jerushia Graham is the Museum Coordinator for the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking and a working artist. The Atlanta-based artist exhibits both nationally and internationally. In 2019, she was nominated in the category of Artistic Excellence for the inaugural Hammonds House Honors. She was one of five artists selected by the Georgia Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts to be included in Paper Routes: Women To Watch 2020 exhibited at MOCA GA. Several of her papercuts traveled the state of Georgia in an exhibition sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art and Lyndon House Museum, Highlighting Contemporary Art in Georgia: Cut and Paste. Graham served as the first VP of Exhibitions/Curatorial for the North American Hand Papermakers 2019-2021 and has been a guest curator for the Zora Neale Hurston Museum in Eatonville, FL and The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning in Duluth, GA. She has juried the South Arts Southern Prize, the All-State Art Symposium, the Georgia Artists with Disabilities Exhibition, and a number of other juried arts awards. Jerushia earned her MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, and BFA degrees in Fabric Design and Printmaking from the University of Georgia in Athens. Graham is interested in creating spaces for socially minded introspection and empathy through her artwork, workshops, and curatorial projects. 

Joseph Lappie is the chair and a full professor of the Art + Design department at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa and teaches bookbinding, papermaking, printmaking, & drawing. He developed and continues to grow a print & book concentration there. Joseph works heavily in the Quad Cities to provide free or near-free book, paper, and print demonstrations for area k-12 schools, non-profit organizations, and on the sidewalks of the community. Receiving his M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, Joseph shows his installation print work and artist’s books throughout the country. Recently exhibiting a solo show at the Figge Art Museum, he has also shown in Atlanta, Chicago, Iowa City, London, New York, Portland, and Seoul. His work is collected in multiple collections including Yale Arts Library, SAIC, Ringling College of Art & Design, and the Jaffe Book Arts Collection. 

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 2022 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 Location:
The City of Decatur, Georgia is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Atlanta’s in-town 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. Twenty-four 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

HOW TO ENTER:
All entries will be submitted digitally through www.callforentry.org (CaFÉ).

• If you have not previously registered with CaFÉ, setting up your portfolio is free of charge. The Book as Art application requires a $30.00 fee 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 the second and third entries (optional) will use a coupon. Directions for this process are included in the text of the entry forms.

• Each entry will generate a distinct application number that correlates to the individual artwork.  It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to note each artwork's application number, as this identifier will be used to announce the accepted works. 

• 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 25–June 12, 2022. All applications must be submitted by 11:59 MST on June 12, 2022.

• For technical assistance with your entry, please visit https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/, 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 22, 2022.

SUBMISSIONS MUST 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. (https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/uploading-media/). *

*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 22, 2022. Instructions for shipment and retrieval of artwork will be included.  It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to confirm the correct corresponding application number, if multiple applications were submitted.  Applicants not chosen will also be notified. No phone calls, please.  Images of accepted work will be retained by the DAA for archival purposes.

Eligibility Criteria

ELIGIBILITY
Artists are invited to enter original, 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, with the names of all participating artists included in the statement or description of the work.