Curatorial Statement
Pressing Matters | Vol. I launches a new exhibition series titled CONTINUUM. This series will utilize the gallery as an innovative tool to bridge community and classroom.
Asserting the relevance of contemporary artistic inquiry, the exhibitions will also highlight the creative problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation that lies at the heart of the School of the Arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Curated by Patricia Davis, Curator and Manager of UNO Art Gallery & Collections in collaboration with guest curators Kyle Nobles and Parker Herout, Pressing Matters | Vol. I surveys the rich collaborative history of the UNO Book Arts program through an evocative compilation of works by students, faculty, and local book arts professionals.
Art forms that fall under the vast umbrella of Book Arts include artist's books, fine press books, sculptural book forms, zines, letterpress ephemera, broadsides, and interactive installation. In addition to these physical examples of the medium, QR codes have been added throughout the exhibition to offer opportunities for more in depth explanation and further research. This experience also introduces the program's future with the curricular goals of the new Assistant Professor in Book Arts, AB Gorham.
In a contemporary world, creating and engaging with handmade books and other printed media is an opportunity to slow down and connect to the present via more traditional technologies. This operates as a response to our increasingly digital age, where we are inundated with screens, shortcuts, and a never-ending desire for immediacy. Embracing this philosophy, the curators invite viewers to handle the books (unless otherwise noted with an asterisk *) and to spend time engaging with what they have to offer.
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