The Book as Vessel: An overview of Contemporary Book Arts
The University of North Florida Gallery of Art
Jacksonville, Florida

Raymond Gaddy, Gallery Director

A collection of contemporary book arts featuring the work of: Carol Barton, Sarah Marshall, Lane Cooper*, Werner Pfeiffer, Edwin Jager, Bridget Elmer, Jessica White, Matthew Liddle, Sarah Bryant, Shanna Leino, Shawn Sheehy, John Smith, Todd Sanders, Anna Embree, and Roberta Lavadour.

*work included:
objects
no longer
capable of flight

The residency has been remarkable, transformative. Having such a span of time with a kind of enforced removal from other concerns has been an incredible opportunity. In addition the environment at Banff, both physical and human, stimulates making and thinking about work in unexpected ways.

While here I’ve been working on a project titled “Notes on Derrida.” The project takes as its source/inspiration the writings of Jacques Derrida and a number of his frequent themes including: Death; Survival; Gift; Ghost; and Trace. The books I’ve most referenced have been The Gift of Death; Specters of Marx; Learning to Live Finally; and The Truth in Painting. His writings have provided the poetic infrastructure for productions in video, painting, performance, writing and installation.

Banff has made possible this depth of exploration and experimentation through its facilities and the support it offers. “The Other Gallery,” an exhibition space for the residents’ use, operates as a public lab to test out these explorations. In addition the studios provide private, facilitated space to work around the clock.

My work while here included a performance and installation in “The Other Gallery,” titled “Notes on Derrida: Walk-ins Welcomed,” dealing with the subject of “reading text.” As part of the installation relevant quotes from Derrida were pinned to the wall while gallery interested gallery visitors received a personal “reading” in which they themselves were the text. As the reader I gave them my attention and my “read” on their futures. While visitors waited for a “reading” they had the opportunity to see a “ghost” in the form of a projected video. Also as part of the performance, guest expert/docent Amanda Almon lead gallery visitors on a guided reading of the work.

For open studios I created an installation in my studio titled “Notes on Derrida: The Truth in Painting,” in which an ideal painting was conceived and test tiles generated which presented various parsed out components of this ideal. Integral to the installation were the other elements in the studio, including an arrangement of source texts.

All in all it has been a remarkable experience. The artists I’ve met and the work I’ve seen being produced is invaluable. Further it was great being here at the same time as the Analogous Fields Residency. The work coming out of that program absolutely set the bar high.

May 11 through June 19, 2009, Lane Cooper will be at Banff located in Alberta, Canada pursuing a self-directed residency through the Banff Centre. Her project, titled “Notes on Derrida”, will consist of video and written responses to Jacques Derrida’s writings including “The Gift of Death”, “Specters of Marx” and his last interview, “Learning to Live Finally”. The primary subject of Lane’s project is the trace.


“It is the phenomenological and human effects of Banff’s environment that I will be recording. I will spend my time taking the opportunity to explore the Banff landscape. I am looking for mists, passing natural patterns, flickering light, the rustling of wind and the murmuring of passing conversations to collect and parse into epistletory fragments.”



The Banff Centre