Thursday 13 March 2014

Bait and Switch at the Italian Cultural Centre

I have to review a show that I was so, so SO excited to see at the Italian Cultural Centre here in Vancouver. Unfortunately I have to give it a no-so-positive review. I rate this about 1 or 2 out of 5 stars.

First of all, the very promising title is "The Bookbinder's Art", leading me to believe that this show was, you know, about bookbinding. As in featuring books, or bookbinding equipment, or something along those lines.

See The False Promises HERE

I also read the following review that reinforced my high expectations:

You make it sound SO GOOD, Shane

However, what was in store was not what I expected. The content of the show was literally 5 books. FIVE, goddammit!

Two of which were Japanese stab bind, AKA my most hated bind. My bind nemesis, if you will.
The work was primarily handmade and hand marbled papers, which I must say were very well done and exquisitely beautiful. If the show had been titled "The Paper Marbler's Art" this thing would be getting a 5 out of 5 stars review. The artist who made these papers is Candace Thayer-Coe, a Vancouver based paper guru. Candace earned my respect for her technical skills in papermaking (learned in the Philippines using local plant fibres) as well as two styles of paper marbling.

Learn More About Candace HERE

One way that Candace gets her marble-on is by using the Japanese technique of Suminagashi, which she explains as follows in her show didactic:

"The earliest form of marbling is Japanese Suminagashi. Suminagashi literally means ink floating. According to folklore, Suminagashi on paper was discovered in 1151 near the end of the Heian Era. This was a period when Japan was emerging from the influence of China and developing a national character of its own. The law restricted Suminagashi paper to the royal household for Tanka poetry and other documents for over four hundred years. Tradition identifies three sources from nature for the themes which early Suminagashi artists sought to represent in their work: the movement of clouds in the sky, the flowing motion of wind-blown white cloth and slowly running streams coursing through fields. Suminagashi encourages cooperation with the elements of the medium. The artist is but one of many natural forces determining the final marbled piece. Suminagashi is created by laying Boku-undo inks, made in Japan exclusively for Suminagashi, on tap water in a vat with pointed oriental brushes. Designs are motivated by gently blowing or fanning the ink on the water. Rice paper or handmade paper is carefully laid on the surface of the water capturing the image on the paper."

Here is some suminagashi in action:



Candace also makes a huge variety of Turkish marbled papers, in the tradition of Ebru. 
In Turkish, Ebru apparently means 'cloud', leading Candace to name her own business "Cloud Art". 
Ebru is awesome. Check it out: 



Ebru is also the source of the kind of marbled papers that are usually used as endpapers in many old books, particularly fine Italian and French binds. The technique also uses many tools to create the patterns that you may find familiar. 
The next video shows Paper Marbler Curtis Finley of Pacific, Missouri (USA) working on his craft. 



For more extensive info on Suminagashi, Ebru or other paper marbling, get Googling. YouTube is always a treasure trove of videos on every subject, so that is a good place to start. 

In cone-clusion, paper marbling is pretty cool, but it is not "The Bookbinder's Art". Maybe you can title your exhibitions in  a more accurate way in the future, Italian Cultural Centre. It would greatly increase my positivity in reviewing your shows. 

PS: Where did I get the term "in cone-clusion"? Right here. At 13:50 to be exact. 


Well that is all for now, hope you enjoy this rant. Please note I am trying to tone down the smut talk before my blog's tag line becomes "Laura Carey Books: Sexual Innuendos, All The Time". 

Until next time, 
Laura 



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