This compelling exhibition catalogue (5.25″ × 8.5″, 52 pp., paperback), curated by Maria G. Pisano and published by the Center for Book Arts, showcases the powerful role of the artist’s book as a vessel of memory and testimony. Featuring nearly thirty-six artists, it includes emotional, poignant works responding to personal and collective events such as Hurricane Katrina, war, systems of violence, and loss.
With an insightful introductory essay by Pisano and full-color reproductions accompanied by detailed bibliographic notes, Book as Witness illustrates how book-based artworks serve as intimate responses—witnessing grief, resistance, and survival. Ideal for collectors, scholars, and artists interested in printed matter as social commentary, this modest yet powerful catalog offers a profound meditation on art, memory, and the book as witness.
Including works by: Laurie Alpert, Anonymous Veteran, Booklyn Artists Alliance (Marshall Weber with MT Karthik, Sara Parkel, Garret Repenhagen, Felice Tebbe, Mark Wagner, Stacey Wakefield, Isabelle Weber, Christopher Wilde, et al.), Paola Cannatella with Giuseppe Galeani, Joydeb and Moyna Chitrakar, Ernie Colón with Sid Jacobson, Combat Papermakers (Jesse Albrecht, Chris Arendt, Drew Cameron, John La Falce, Margaret Mahan, Drew Luan Matott, Kevin Matott, and James O'Neil), Maureen Cummins, Adam Cvijanovic with Jewel Grutman & Gay Matthaei, Mindell Dubansky, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) Warrior Writers Project (Lovella Calica-Editor, Drew Cameron, Toby Hartbarger, Sholon Keller, Aaron Hughes, Justin Cliburn, Mark Wilkerson, Eli Writh, Fernando & Maria Braga, Jon Turner, Phil Aliff, Cloy Richard, Matt Howard, Vince Emanuele, Mike Blake, Paul Abernathy, Mark Lachance, Garet Reppenhagen, Sara Wallace, Nathan Lewis, Hart Viges, Jared Hood, and Jeff Key), Jacques Fournier with Edward Hillel, David Gothard, Fred Hagstrom, Caren Heft, Jahje Bath Ives, Shellie Jacobson, David Keefe, Peter Rutledge Koch with Debra Magpie Earling, Michael Kuch, Nathan Lewis, Miranda Maher, Helen Malone, Craig Matis, Drew Matott and Jason Stalling, Jeffrey Morin, Keiji Nakazawa, Monica Oppen, Robbin Ami Silverberg, Claire Simon, Art Spiegelman, Scott Teplin with Joel Brouwer, Michelle Wilson, and Dorothy A. Yule.