Stephen A. Kanter Lecture on CA Fine Printing

Peter & Donna Thomas ~ Williams Andrew Clark Memorial Library ~ Los Angeles

The Stephen A. Kanter Lecture on California Fine Printing:

“The Work of Peter and Donna Thomas, Wandering Book Artists: Making Physical Books in the Digital Age”

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

4:00 p.m.

at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

Given by Peter and Donna Thomas, Book Artists

Peter and Donna Thomas use their “Wandering Book Artists” trip as a way to expose audiences to the concept of the artists’ book. Peter begins by addressing such questions as: What is a book? What is an artists’ book? What are the aesthetic attributes of an artists’ book? What is the history of the artists’ book? Where does one find one? How does one look at a book as a work of art? What is the difference between making a book to publish information or text and making a book as a work of art? The Q&A is followed by a slide presentation surveying the books Peter and Donna have made over the last thirty-five years. After the talk the audience will have the opportunity to look through their current books in print. The lecture includes a performance of a song or two on their ukulele book.

Peter and Donna Thomas are book artists, papermakers, and letterpress printers who write, illustrate, and bind their own books. They work both collaboratively and individually. From the beginning in 1977, their aim was to create limited edition fine press books made of the finest materials and produced to the highest standards of quality, in both full size and miniature format. This aesthetic guided their work as they explored making non-traditional book structures and shaped book objects. In 2002 they wrote More Making Books by Hand: Exploring Miniature Books, Alternative Structures and Found Objects, a manual for binding the book structures they had developed. From 2010–14 they have intermittently traveled the United States as the “Wandering Book Artists,” giving talks, workshops, and demonstrations to both academic and community-based audiences. 

Registration Deadline: January 14, 2015

Admission is complimentary, but advance registration is requested:

www.c1718cs.ucla.edu/kanter14-r

Please be aware that space at the Clark is limited and that registration closes when capacity is reached. Confirmation will be sent via email.