Director’s Foreword
Amy Gilman
The Kohler Art Library has shared the Elvehjem building with the museum since its opening in 1970, and in fact, support for the library was a key impetus to the funding campaign for the museum. Ever since, the two units have been “neighbors” on parallel paths of development—both with missions to facilitate access to knowledge on UW-Madison’s campus. Speaking of Book Arts: Oral Histories from UW-Madison offers a unique experience for visitors to see artists’ books from students and professors at the university alongside their corresponding oral histories recorded by the UW-Madison Archives. This distinctive exhibition is not only a celebration of the museum’s history, but also a moment to acknowledge and honor our longtime campus partners and the ways in which our stories are inherently connected.
It is important to note that this is not the first time artists’ books have been on display in the museum. In 1983, the then Elvehjem Museum of Art collaborated with the Kohler Art Library for the exhibition Breaking the Bindings, organized by book artist and Professor Walter Hamady and his students. Unlike Speaking of Book Arts, the 1983 exhibition featured works from artists around the country. The exhibition was considered revolutionary at a time when artists’ books exhibitions were unusual, and it inaugurated the artists’ book collection in the Kohler. Meanwhile, the university’s art department already had a long-established non-formal book arts program through its graphics division, which taught generations of printmaking students.
Speaking of Book Arts follows a precedent, therefore, of exhibiting new and rarely-seen works to the public, but with a focus on connection to the university. The incorporation of UW-Madison Archives’ oral histories with artists’ books has never been done before, and brings these works to life in a completely new way. Visitors can expect to be immersed in the history of the objects, their makers, and their teachers. Rarely are we privileged to experience art in this way—with added context directly from the artist, in their own words (or in this case, voice), and even more rarely can we do that in the place where those histories took place.
As the Chazen celebrates its 51st anniversary in 2021, we acknowledge that our success and progress over the past 51 years is not ours alone, but indeed the culmination of critical partnerships, support, and engagement on campus. We hope that Speaking of Book Arts can serve as a preview of what is in store at the museum—deeper, more thoughtful collaboration, and opportunities for our visitors to experience art in a new way, question their present and past, and spark their curiosity.
I want to thank the staff at UW-Madison Archives and the Kohler Art Library for curating Speaking of Book Arts, and for allowing us all to take a moment to experience art in a way that both acknowledges our past and speaks to our future. One of the many joys of being at the Chazen is continuing to peel back the layers of its history, only to find more ideas and opportunities for our path ahead.
Amy Gilman
Director, Chazen Museum of Art, April 2021
