Virtual Book Exhibition

(image: David Lusk)

The following link goes to the VIRTUAL MATRIX GALLERY, which is currently showing artist's books from the Spring 2010 Artist Book class. Click here to go to the gallery.

Biggest book in the world

King Mindon of Burma wanted to leave something to posterity. As a book lover he thought that literature was one of the most valuable elements of an enlightened society so he planned to leave a book behind him. Not any old book though – this would be the largest book in the world.
The King wanted the book to last for five thousand years so paper would not do. In 1860 he started the construction in Mandalay (then the capital of Burma). At the base of the Mandalay Hill still stands the largest book in the world. Its dimensions are staggering: the book has seven hundred and thirty leaves and one thousand six hundred and forty pages. Each one is made from local marble and has around one hundred lines of writing upon it.
It doesn’t end there, though – each of the pages is three and a half feet wide and five feet tall. In order to stand freely these pages are five inches thick. Each of these stone tablets has its own roof and they are all arranged around a central, golden pagoda – known as the Kuthodaw Pagoda. The book itself does not tell the story of Mindon’s life – many persons of royal lineage would no doubt be tempted to give a version of their own history dressed, no doubt, in flowery hyperbole. Each page is contained within its own glistening white pagoda to protect it from the elements.
Together the rows of pagodas form the biggest book in the world - and this is how Kuthodaw is now known. The book contains the Pail Canon, which is a collection of scriptures in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. First written down over two thousand years ago, Mindon felt that these scriptures would be a fitting testament to his life. We know this because the seven hundred and thirtieth leaf of the book records the actions of the king for posterity.

The construction itself is a remarkable story. The marble was quarried from thirty miles away and taken by river to Mandalay. When the work began in 1860 the stones were worked in an enormous shed and hundreds of senior monks were involved in the editing of the sacred scriptures. Each stone has up to one hundred lines of inscription upon it – and these were originally filled with gold ink.

It took eight years to complete the book and it was opened to the public in 1868. Originally, each of the tablets had a precious gem in a casket on its top. When the British invaded the north of Burma in the 1880s the gems were stolen. There was a restoration in the 1890s but it took till the latter part of the twentieth century for the book to be restored to its old glory.

FULL STORY AND PHOTOS HERE.

Howard Munson

Howard Munson is a book artist and printmaker with an interest in experimental forms. His books are characterized by the exquisite craftmanship of his bindings and prints. The "naked" prints and drawings, enclosed within these crafted casings make the book arts the best medium for Munson's talents.

Donna Seager Gallery:

The Art of the Book. Click here, lots of book artists.

Donald Glasister

Donald Glaister is a book artist now living and working on Vashon Island, Washington, near Seattle. He began his bookbinding career after taking degrees in painting and sculpture from San Jose State College in California, and studying binding privately with Barbara Hiller in San Francisco and Pierre Aufschnieder and Roger Arnoult in Paris. His over thirty year professional career in design bookbinding has centered on the exploration, development and use of unexpected binding materials, visual humor and spontaneous visual expression, while working within the classical framework of the European binding form.

Not-Tom

"The idea for the Book Book Shelf came from the realisation of how many books are discarded on a regular basis. These particular books were to be thrown out at the end of a jumble sale and we wondered what more could be made of them. We like the idea that value can be added to many discarded items through ingenuity and redefinition of context. "

The other is called the Modern Book Printing located in Berlin, Germany. I don't know if

anyone has found this before, but figured I would send it anyway. According to

Wikipedia the sculpture roughly 3 tons and forty feet tall, taking about 3 days to build.

Apparently designed by employees at Scholz and Friends.

Click here to go to his website.

Karen Hanmer

See lots more work by Karen Hanmer by clicking here.

NCUR (National Conference on Undergraduate Research)

NCUR is taking place at UM on April 15 & 16th.

All university classes are cancelled so students can attend the conference.

For a listing of Art Related topics, including several presentations by UM Art Students click below.

STUDIO ART NCUR EVENTS SCHEDULE

ART HISTORY RELATED NCUR EVENTS SCHEDULE

Making a Protective Book Box

Case Binding

Claire Jeanine SATIN

Cool books on acetate at this site. CLICK HERE.

Emily Garfield

Go here to see more of her MAP books and maps.