In The Backspace

THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE

Ellen Ziegler

October 06 – 31, 2010
Reception / Thursday, October 07, 6–8pm
Artist Talk / Saturday, October 16, 4pm

A hand-bound volume of drawings on tar paper. In the Reading Room (Backspace at SOIL).

Ellen Ziegler has been making one-of-a-kind artist books for many years. She has exhibited nationally and is in the collections of University of Wisconsin at Madison; Southern Graphics Print Archive at University of Mississippi; Rutgers University, University of the Arts, Philadelphia; and California State University at Long Beach, as well as many private collections. She is also recipient of the Most Drop-Dead Gorgeous Book Award at the Edible Book Festival.

This will be her first exhibit of an artist’s book in Seattle.

THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE is a major volume of drawings, a single book meant to be paged through by viewers, as opposed to presented in a glass case, untouchable. Her work with tar paper has evolved over three years, pushing the limits of the material and resulting in a visceral and sensory experience for the viewer/reader who takes the time to experience the book.

Coming next summer: Ziegler is excited to be collaborating with Claudia Cohen, a nationally known bookbinder to the stars, who binds Anselm Kiefer’s books (one of Ziegler’s book heroes).