Recent Exhibits
Cartoneras: Book Arts from Latin America 
September 1 - 30, 2009
Showcasing the work of young writers and artists from various Latin American countries, this exhibit contains a sampling of "cartonera" books on loan from the Special Collections Department, Memorial Library. Cartonera books are hand-made from recycled cardboard collected off the streets by "cartoneros," or garbage pickers, who sell the cardboard they collect to the Cartonera publishers and in some cases work on the production process of the actual books themselves. The cardboard covers are hand-painted and the books often contain new literary contributions. Writers and artists have developed a "progressive new publishing model that challenges and contests the neo-liberal political and economic hegemony." Cartonera publishing promotes "the democratization of the book and access to literature for everyone, everywhere."
Since its inception in 2003 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the Eloisa Cartonera, the cartonera publishing phenomenon has quickly spread to other Latin American countries: Animita Cartonera (Santiago, Chile); Dulcineia Catadora (Sao Paolo, Brazil); La Cartonera (Cuernavaca, Mexico); Mandragora Cartonera (Cochabamba, Bolivia); Sarita Cartonera (Lima, Peru); Yerba Mala Cartonera (El Alto, Bolivia); and Yiji Jambo (Asuncion, Paraguay).
The UW-Madison is hosting the conference “Cartonera Publishers: Recycling Latin American Bookscapes” that will take place on October 8th-9th, 2009. For more information, see www.library.wisc.edu/cartoneras/.
Curated by Lyn Korenic and Jaime Healy-Plotkin.
Arthropods (insects) in Art 
July 1 - August 31, 2009
On view are selected art and artists’ books that explore the world of arthropods (insects): butterflies, beetles, bees, wasps, flies, ants, cicadas, mosquitoes and more! Throughout history, artists have depicted the most diverse group of animals on earth in both symbolic and naturalistic ways. Insects can be found filling marginalia of Medieval psalters and illuminated manuscripts, documenting scientific discoveries in natural history paintings, fooling the eye (trompe l’oeil) in Renaissance still lives, and creating kaleidoscopic installations of iridescent colors and exotic shapes or contemporary cabinets of curiosity. It’s summertime! Enjoy the world of arthropods both inside and outside the Kohler Art Library!
Curated by Lyn Korenic and Jaime Healy-Plotkin of the Kohler Art Library.
The Vandercook Proof Press Celebrates Its 100th Birthday (1909-2009) 
March 24 - May 31, 2009
On view are diverse folios from "The Vandercook Book," a limited edition artists' book published by Barbara Henry and Roni Gross to celebrate the centennial of the Vandercook Proof Press. Over 30 master printers such as Tracy Honn, Gaylord Schanilec, Barbara Tetenbaum, John Risseeuw, Ruth Lingen, Peter Koch, Johanna Drucker, Abigail Rorer, and Roni Gross reveal their distinctive artistic expression with the press. Originally designed for commercial use, the Vandercook Proof Press has developed into a versatile and experimental printmaking medium used by artists. Techniques employed in the folios include pressure printing, sandragraph, lino cut, polymer plate printing, handset type, linoleum cut, die cut and wood cut, among others. ("Rules for Printers" is a linoleum cut by Mare Blocker.)
Curated by Lyn Korenic, director of the Kohler Art Library, and Daniella Lopez, Information Specialist Intern.
Framework: Architectural Books
February 2 - March 20, 2009
How is a staircase like a book or a wall like a page? Karen Wirth explores the relationships between books and architecture through artist’s books, sculpture and public art. Through analogy, she examines space and experience, presence and absence, revelation and concealment, public and private. What do our eyes tell us? Is it the same as what our body experiences? Whether working with the intimacy of a hand-held book or the public scale of an architectural project, Wirth translates the conceptual and physical relationship of the viewer to the object through scale, materials, image and text. Her work includes one of a kind and editioned book works, as well as architectural projects such as the grand staircase at Open Book in Minneapolis. Wirth is the Chair of Fine Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Karen Wirth is on campus as a visiting artist in the UW-Madison, Art Department. She will be speaking about her work on February 10, 2009, 5:40-6:30pm, in Room 204, Educational Sciences Building. For details, see the Art Department website http://art.wisc.edu/?folder=events&pagename=details&idEvents=347.
Curated by Karen Wirth.
A Winter Walk through the Artists' Book Collection
December 8, 2008 - January 31, 2009
Words and images describing the frosty mountain air, crystalline formation of ice, sparkling snowflake, and winter wind celebrate the season that begins and ends each year. Artists with work in the exhibit include: Michael Alpert, Carol Chase Bjerke, Francesco Clemente, Mary (Sprague) Dryburgh, Mary Moss Escalante, Ruth Fine, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Kevin Henkes, Kathy Kuehn, Jim Lee, Suzanne Lemay, Monica Poole, Regula Russelle, Gaylord Schanilec, C. B. Sherlock, Yutaka Sone, Claire Van Vliet. The image shown here is "Rafale" by Suzanne Lemay, taken from the book Endgrain: contemporary wood engraving in North America.
Curated by Lyn Korenic, Director, Kohler Art Library.