The Books Arts Guild
&
University of Washington Libraries
Present
Genie Shenk
Lecture & Exhibit Tour
Thursday July 11, 6:45-9:00pm (doors open at 6:30)
Maps/Special Collections Classroom, Room B69 Suzzallo Library
The University of Washington
Please remember the 6:45 start time as this summer, the Suzzallo/Allen Library on the University of Washington campus closes to the public at 7:00pm, so you must arrive for the event before that time.
Since 1982, Genie Shenk has recorded each night’s dream in visual form. Yearly records are a reference of ideas and a source for other works. Her imagery varies from circular monoprints to collage paper to adaptations of illustrations found in antique atlases and dictionaries. Shenk frequently uses an accordion-fold structure that reflects the diurnal sequence, or a circular format, emphasizing the cyclical pattern of the year. Recently, she had made books in which several dreams are grouped thematically. These works often involve mica, a material which for her, represents the veil separating conscious and unconscious realms. the barrier that separates the future from the ast. Many of her books are sculptural, and often include found objects. Other books are meditative structures without text, which explore traditional book forms, evoking their metaphoric or symbolic qualities. The exhibit, “Dreamlogs: Artists’ Books by Genie Shenk,” curated by Rare Books and Book Arts Curator Sandra Kroupa, highlights Shenk’s extensive career.
Genie Shenk received an MFA in fibers from UCLA in 1990. for many years, she taught book arts at the Athenaeum School of the Arts and at San Diego Mesa College, where she was co-founder of Mesa Arts Press. Her work has been widely exhibited and collected and is most comprehensively represented at the University of Washington Special Collections, the University of California San Diego, the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla, and the Library of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Contributor for this blog was: Kate Leonard, Book Arts Guild Secretary
www.bookartsguild.org