The Book In Extremis | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

The Book In Extremis

Main Gallery
Gallery Exhibition
Image
The Book In Extremis Banner

Main Gallery

July 24–September 20, 2015

Book Arts Art Crawl in conjunction with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Form+Content Gallery, and Walker Art Center Library

Visiting Artist Lecture: Andrea Dezsö
Sponsored by the Fine Arts Department and the Alice Fjelstul ‘96 Visiting Artist Program

Exhibition Installation Images

Although the Latin phrase “in extremis” can mean “on the brink of death,” this exhibition is not purporting to summon the book form's demise. Rather, the show is an examination of how the book has been reconstructed “in the extreme.” Where have artists and designers taken the components that constitute a book? What does the act of reading encompass today? In particular, the show will explore where the fine arts, media arts, and design fields have taken the notion of the book. Within a given discipline, to be “in the extreme” might refer to adventurous book design, or non-paper means of producing a book, or a more traditional codex book with outrageous content or unusual sequencing, or some other iteration of the “not to be believed.”

At MCAD there are numerous faculty members whose artistic work embraces and pushes the boundaries of what a book is and can be. At any given time they are the writers, illustrators, designers, paper makers, photographers, and master manipulators of word and image. To give breadth to this exhibition, select MCAD faculty members were invited to suggest artists, designers, and writers who, for them, represent recent important trends in creating new experiences for readers of all types. 

Participating MCAD faculty

  • Rebecca Alm
  • Erik Brandt
  • David Goldes
  • Vince Leo
  • Paula McCartney
  • Kindra Murphy
  • Anders Nilsen
  • Bridget O’Malley
  • Zak Sally
  • Jody Williams
  • Karen Wirth

Invited Artists 

  • Judith Barry
  • Harriet Bart
  • Irma Boom
  • Mat Brinkman
  • Sigrid Calon
  • Dante Carlos
  • Paul Chan and Badlands Unlimited
  • Julie Chen
  • Andreco and Allegra Corbo
  • Andrea Dezsö
  • Julie Doucet
  • Jonathan Safran Foer
  • Icinori
  • Adam Michaels and Project Projects
  • Mevis and Van Deursen
  • Lars Müller
  • John Pham
  • Lorenzo Vitturi
  • Xu Yong
  • Therese Zemlin