“Artists’ Books” designed by 15 Hope art students are being featured in a display in the Van Wylen Library at Hope College through Friday, Feb. 24.
The works—a variety of pieces crafted from old books, some retaining their original form and others rendered into completely different objects like a teacup or compass rose--offer an imaginative reinterpretation of the way that books traditionally relate language and images, each reflecting the vision of the individual artist. The exhibition’s statement describes the medium as “Neither an art book nor a book on art. The ‘Artist’s Book’ is a work of art on its own, conceived specifically for the book form and often published by the artist.”
The pieces were created by students in the college’s “Applied Design II” class. One of the volumes will be selected for the library’s new “Artists’ Book Collection.”
The students with work in the display, which opened on Friday, Feb. 3, are: Gretchen Baldwin, a December graduate from Portage; junior Leah Carroll of Holly; senior Chris Cox of Grand Rapids; junior Kristen Dunn of Grand Rapids; sophomore Susan Haigh of Carmel, Ind.; sophomore Michael Harbert of Williamston; senior Amy Hattori of Hacienda Heights, Calif.; junior Becca Hawkins of Williamsburg; junior Justin Korver of Sioux Center, Iowa; sophomore Luis Marin of New Era; sophomore Matheus Matioli of Kijabe, Kenya; sophomore Natalie Meissner of Hartland, Wis.; freshman Elizabeth O’Connell of Geneva, Ill.; senior Audrey Schultz of Grand Haven; and freshman Katelyn Szmurlo of Barrington, Ill. The course was taught by Stephanie Milanowski, who is the Howard R. and Margaret E. Sluyter Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Hope.
The Van Wylen Library is regularly open Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to midnight, Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to midnight. In conjunction with the college’s Winter Break, which begins the evening of Friday, Feb. 10, and continues through Tuesday, Feb. 14, the library will be open on Friday, Feb. 10, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 11-12; open on Monday, Feb. 13, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and open on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
The Van Wylen Library is located at 53 Graves Place (11th Street), between 10th and 12th streets on College Avenue.