Carleton Lecture Highlights the Importance of Artists’ Books in the Liberal Arts Curriculum

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"Times New Roman"">On Wednesday, February 3 at 8 p.m., Ruth Rogers, Special Collections Librarian at Wellesley College, will present “Of Beauty "Times New Roman";color:black">and Relevance: The Place of Artists' Books in the Liberal Arts Curriculum.” This event takes place in the Boliou Hall Auditorium on the Carleton College campus and the public is invited to attend.

line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Rogers’ presentation emphasizes the significance of artists’ books as teaching tools in the liberal arts. She argues that artists’ books have the power to enlighten and persuade. Through verbal and visual methods, these special books and book-like objects can enliven the liberal arts curriculum, connecting to disciplines from women’s studies, to race and social justice, to literature and science.

line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“Artists' books can be satirical, personal, political, lyrical, didactic, poignant and tragic. They are a hybrid medium whose impact relies on concept and form as much as text. Their visual and tactile elements confound our expectations of ‘book,’ but artists' books fit easily within the whole range of multi-media communication that is part of our daily lives,” observes Rogers.

line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Rogers’ appearance is sponsored by Viz (Visualizing the Liberal Arts), a new Carleton initiative funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The lecture is part of a series of events held during 2009-10 academic year celebrating the artists’ book as a format for interdisciplinary exchange and creative experimentation.

line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Boliou Hall is accessible off of Highway 19 in Northfield. For more information about Rogers, visit www.wellesley.edu/Library/SpecColl/rrogershome.html. For additional information, contact Laurel Bradley, Director of Exhibitions and Curator of the College Art Collection, at (507) 222-4342.