Reusing the written word

I love books. Books are the friggin best. Altered books, however, are not the best. When artists transform a text into visual art, the book often loses its original meaning, and seldom gains a new one. 

But altered books are a popular form of art these days, partly because the genre isn't exactly exclusive. Abecedarian Gallery, which is hosting an exhibit of altered books, admits as much in its press release. It calls the genre "undemanding and accepting of all skill levels." Others might call it "easy."

Whatever the term, the gallery's exhibit RE: (Rebound, Recycled, Repurposed, Reused) displays art from discarded books. The exhibition includes art from local artists, including four Metro students, as well as international contributions.

Margaret Whiting's take on the Cyclopedia Of Law And Procedure, a 1913 law book, is both artistic and sarcastic. Whiting rolled all the pages of the book like a sleeping bag and bound them with twine. The text itself would be only a little less impenetrable.

Yet most pieces were like the clunky and distracting "Test For Color Blindness," trying way too hard to deliver a relatively tame message. On a black posterboard, artist Jean Tock attached book covers of various colors, five colorblindness tests, and a heavy-handed message about race in the form of a 1950's drinking fountain sign that indicated separate "White" and "Colored" fountains. Get it? Color. 

I was more interested in my failure to find the numbers in the colorblindness tests than thinking about whether the sign made any sense in that context.

Ultimately, it's hard to accept the subtitle of this exhibit, particularly "repurposed." Books never really lose their purpose. And I'm not convinced their new purposes in RE: are an improvement.

RE: (Rebound, Recycled, Repurposed, Reused)
Feb. 12-March 20
Abecedarian Gallery, 910 Santa Fe #101
303-340-2110