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Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts is proud to sponsor the Multiple Formats: Contemporary Art Book Symposium. The three-day in-person event being held at BU College of Fine Arts from February 24-26, weaves together conversations about artist books and higher education, pedagogical practices involving artist books, artist advocacy, and artist book distribution, collection, and access. Intended to be an elastic and inclusive forum for discussions about artist book publishing, Multiple Formats pays particular attention to publishing by graphic designers, the use and creation of artist books in visual arts programs, publishing as a personal and collaborative process, and other topics of interest.
The goal of Multiple Formats is to build community and strengthen creative networks, create a hub for research and sharing of work, and platform substantive discussion about sustainable creative practices that include artist books. Special thanks to Christopher Sleboda, associate professor of art, graphic design at SVA for organizing the symposium.
Multiple Formats: Contemporary Art Book Symposium
Presented by Boston University School of Visual Arts
Thursday, February 24, 2022-Saturday, February 26, 2022
BU Peter Fuller Building (FLR) 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Brookline, MA 02446 Room 410
PROGRAMMING
Thursday, February 24
- 7:30 PM EST | Keynote – Sonel Breslav (Printed Matter) – Sonel Breslav is the Director of Fairs & Editions at Printed Matter, Inc., a leading non-profit organization dedicated to the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of artists’ books and related publications. Sonel leads the development and production of the annual NY and LA Art Book Fairs and produced the 2021 Virtual Art Book Fair along with the platform’s free and accessible online archive. Previously, she was the National Chapters and Programs Manager at ArtTable, the foremost professional organization dedicated to advancing the leadership of women in the visual arts. From 2013–17, Sonel was the Director of Murray Guy, New York, where she curated exhibitions of work by gallery artists such as Matthew Buckingham, Alejandro Cesarco, Leidy Churchman, Moyra Davey, An-My Lê, and Zoe Leonard, among others. In 2012, Sonel founded Blonde Art Books, an independent organization and publisher dedicated to promoting small-press and self-published art books through exhibitions, talks, online exposure, and book fairs.
Friday, February 25
- 10:00 AM EST | Limitations, Distribution, & Engagement – Featuring Erik Benjamins; João Doria de Souza, Plantas Press; Kris Graves; lucky risograph; Molly Sherman; Anthony Tino (Moderated by Treasa Benny, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 11:00 AM EST | Reading, Teaching, & Publishing – Featuring Mike Mandel; Sal Randolph; David Richardson; Anika Sabin, Capricious; Melanie Uribe; Chantal Zakari (Moderated by Valeria Alvarado Gutierrez, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST | Risograph Workshop – Collaborative Bookmaking with Panayiotis Terzis – Panayiotis Terzis is an artist, printer, and publisher based in NYC. His work has been published by Nieves, Fantagraphics, Landfill Editions, Vice Magazine, and others, and he has been exhibited widely across the US and globally including at the Elizabeth Foundation, Printed Matter Inc., the Swiss Institute, Andreas Melas Presents (Athens, Greece). His illustration clients include American Apparel, Digitaria, Elsewhere Space, EyeBodega, McDonald’s, Bloomberg Digital, and others. Terzis is also the founder of the Riso publishing platform Mega Press. His artist books, zines, and print editions are in the permanent collection of the MoMA Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the New York Public Library, and the collection of Stanford University among others. Pan’s work has been featured on It’s Nice That, Booooooom, Juxtapoz, The Comics Journal, Atlas Obscura, and other venues. He teaches Risograph printing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is a co-founder of the SVA RisoLAB.
- 12:00 PM EST | Networks, Platforms, & Audiences – Featuring Hannah Coleman, Childish Books; Tim Devin, Free the Future Press; Randi Hopkins, Boston Art Book Fair; Ryan Gerald Nelson; Jae Rossman, Jenny Press (Moderated by Bella Bennett, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST | Program Break
- 2:00 PM EST | Exhibitions, Libraries & Collections – Featuring Dan Byers, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts; Claudia T. Covert, RISD Library; Mar González Palacios, Yale University; Katherine M. Ruffin, Wellesley College; Curtis Scott, MoMA )Moderated by Lucy Kim, Associate Professor of Art, Painting, Boston University)
- 3:00 PM EST | Writing, Connecting, & Criticism – Featuring Megan N. Liberty, Brooklyn Rail; Corina Reynolds, Center for Book Arts; Dave Solo, Independent Researcher (Moderated by Lynne Allen, Professor of Art, Printmaking at Boston University)
- 4:00 PM EST | Risographs, Process, & Research – Featuring Jeffrey Altepeter, Graham Atherton, Ben DuVall, Elaine Lopez, Panayiotis Terzis (Moderated by Nina Gozzi, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 5:00 PM EST | Cutting, Folding, & Creating – Kelli Anderson – Kelli Anderson is an artist, designer, animator, and tinkerer who pushes the limits of ordinary materials to seek out possibilities hidden in plain view. Her books and projects have included a pop-up paper planetarium, a book that transforms into a pinhole camera, a working paper record, and techniques for misusing office equipment to create animations. Intentionally lo-fi, she believes that humble materials can provide entry into the endless, tunneling complexity of our world, making those wonders accessible on a multi-sensory, rich, human level. She is currently completing writing Alphabet in Motion, an interactive book on the relationship between typography and technology with Letterform Archive. (Introduction by Regina Acra and Dan Pinnolis, MFA Candidates in Graphic Design, Boston University)
Saturday, February 26
- 9:00 AM EST | Artists, Publishers, & Intersections – Featuring Claudia de la Torre, backbonebooks; Paul John, Endless Editions; Megan Irwin; Lisa Maione; Adam Lucas (Moderated by Reshma Vijayan, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 10:00 AM EST | Representation, Practice, & Dialogue – FeaturingFurqan Jawed; Zhongkai Li, Is A Gallery; Lisa Pearson, Siglio Press; Primary Information; Rush Print (Moderated by Crystal Du, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 11:00 AM EST | Transdisciplinarity, Collaboration, & Computation – Featuring Ernest A. Bryant III, L.P.I.; Chad Kloepfer, Harvard University; Kit Son Lee; Megan N. Liberty, Brooklyn Rail; Nicholas Weltyk, Cooperative Editions (Moderated by Arjun Kumar, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST | Risograph Workshop – Imperfect Printmaking with Andrew Scripter – Wing Club is a Print and Creative Studio based in Westbrook Maine. Originally started as an outlet for print projects and other collaborative efforts, the studio has developed into new areas including hosting workshops, graphic design projects and print consulting. The Studio has produced over 100 artists book, zine, editions, and posters. The studio is currently based at Super Gas Studios in the Dana Warp Mill.
- 12:00 PM EST | Quick, Urgent, & Personal – Featuring Luiza Dale, Quickbooks; Riley Hooker, Façadomy; Be Oakley, Genderfail; Paul Soulellis, Queer.Archive.Work (Moderated by Julian Parikh, Lecturer in Art, Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST | Program Break
- 2:00 PM EST | Facilitate, Participate, & Interact – Featuring Kyla Arsadjaja, Ben Denzer, Tatiana Gómez Gaggero, Claire Hungerford, Emily Larned, José Menéndez (Moderated by Nicholas Rock, Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 3:00 PM EST | Organize, Perform, & Disrupt – Featuring Kevin Cadena; Shiraz Gallab, RISD; Jinu Hong; Ásta Þrastardóttir; Corina Reynolds (Moderated by Crystal Sealey, BFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 4:00 PM EST | Tools, Resources, & Pedagogy – FeaturingRachel Berger; Francesca Capone; Juliette Cezzar; Dimitry Tetin; George Wietor (Moderated by Jordan Phillips, MFA Candidate in Graphic Design, Boston University)
- 5:00 PM EST | Fairs, Posters, & Community – Featuring Somnath Bhatt; Ryan Diaz; Zak Jensen, Harvard Art Museums; Mary Yang, Assistant Professor of Art, Boston University
(Moderated by Kathleen Sleboda, Lecturer in Art, Graphic Design, Boston University)
REGISTRATION
Visit the Multiple Formats website to register for select events. All events are free and open to the public.
SAFETY GUIDELINES
Per Boston University and in compliance with the Town of Brookline, visitors must wear a mask when indoors. Please reference BU’s Back2BU website for additional information and the latest updates.
