Jeffrey W. Morin
American, b. 1960; MFA 1986
Lives and works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sacred Space, 2003
With Steven Ferlauto
Chapel: copper rod with rice paper, covered with casting resin
Book: letterpress and linocuts on handmade paper
SailorBOYpress, Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Edition of 35
Within the interior of the chapel, the artist quotes Galileo: “Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has created the universe.” Sacred Space is based on Steven Ferlauto’s The Sacred Abecedarium, also published by SailorBOYpress in 1999. The text includes quotations on the nature of sacred space by William Bunce, former director of the Kohler Art Library, among others.
UW–Madison alumna and book artist Caren Heft notes: “This book departs from the conventional perception of what constitutes a book by the incorporation of the ‘glass’ chapel kit. It looks back to do-it-yourself books, to erector sets, to a time past, before television, when people used their hands to make stuff for pleasure….This book requires that the viewer be an active participant as to fully understand the book, one must build the chapel, locate all the parts, and understand the printed book as part of the whole.”
Jeff Morin grew up speaking English and French in Madawaska, Maine, a small town near the Canadian border. He was the younger of two boys, and his parents ran an auto body shop and convenience store. In high school he earned money taking photos for a local newspaper and assisting a National Geographic photographer on a long-term assignment. Interested in process and all kinds of making, he pursued a BFA in interdepartmental studies from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art before pursuing an MA and MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985 and 1986, respectively. At the UW, he took courses with Walter Hamady and Richard Long and explored techniques in letterpress printing, papermaking, printmaking, and painting. In his first books, he experimented with collage, pop-ups, and alternative materials like copper wire. Morin has worked for more than 30 years as an arts educator at institutions including Bethany College, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point, where he was the dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. He has been the president of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design since 2015. The founder of sailorBOYpress, Morin uses traditional storytelling techniques borrowed from folktales and fables in his books. His work deals with social justice themes, and he believes that artists have a dialogue with history. “I ask a question,” he explains. “How do I bring something new or contemporary or relevant to the conversation?”
