‘Habitat: Artists’ Books’ Exhibition has made its way to campus to be displayed through the end of October. Located on the third floor of Coe Library, the exhibition explores the relationship that lies between words and images, and can be enjoyed by students, faculty, and anyone else who wants to see it.
Artists and writers who contributed work to this exhibition were paired together to create artwork that revolves around a short piece of writing.
Harvey Hix, a professor of Philosophy and Creative Writing on campus, made his contribution to the exhibition with a poem featured in the piece “Confluent Septa.”
“One thing to me that is really exciting is that this is an example of people working together and talking together and thinking together. It’s a beautiful example of that,” Hix said.
The exhibition sees an interesting integration of creative writing and the arts, in the form of book art that explores the theme ‘Habitat’-something that can be interpreted differently by everyone.
“This work is very current and relevant,” Mark Ritchie, the curator of this exhibition and professor of printmaking and book arts at the university, said. “No matter who you are, you will find something in there that has meaning or speaks to something you’re excited about.”
Faculty at Coe Library are dedicated to making their space a place where student and faculty artwork can be looked at and appreciated.
“We’re really committed to artwork, and we purchase student arts every year.” Cassandra Kvenild, the associate dean of the libraries on campus, said.
“We have a dedicated budget for buying art produced by students, and we try to host rotating exhibits as often as we can.”
Featuring work from several university affiliated individuals, as well as from people all around the country, this exhibition contains pieces that can resonate with any audience.
“As an example of the fruits of collaboration, this seems very exciting to me,” Hix said. “It was really exciting for me to be a part of this. I hope people will wander through the exhibition and just enjoy it.”
