A rare treat for lovers of books is the ongoing exhibition of book art and allied arts until October 2, 2024 at the Ortigas Foundation Library (2nd Floor Unimart), Greenhills, San Juan. Participated by over 20 artists and their creations of artists’ books mostly made of handmade paper, found objects, and organic materials.
Book Art /ArtKlat 2.0 features a range of styles, materials, and approaches to the ancient craft of bookbinding and papermaking.
An artist’s book is a medium of artistic definition that uses the form or function of a book as its inspiration, using techniques that range from traditional to the experimental. In short, art in book form, often produced as a one-of-a -kind object or published in small editions.
It is usually interactive, portable, movable, and easily shared. Some challenge the conventional book format and becomes sculptural objects.
Some works use the accordion or concertina binding, with a continuous folded sheet that forms the book’s pages and spine. Each fold creates a page that can be extended and reveals a sequence of pages. Other forms include scrolls, fold-outs, or loose items in a box.
A traditional bookbinding technique, concertina binding is effective in displaying visual narratives on both sides and viewed in a linear way, as it allows the book to be fully opened.
Artists’ books
June Dalisay: Painter, art restorer and conservator in the rare field of scientific art restoration, presents three works: “Fifty Years Together,” 2024; “Gem,” 2024, a thick board with handwritten text in half-moon form; and “Inspiration,” 2010, a collection of quotes, stories, and poems in celebration of life.
“Fifty Years Together” celebrates both the lives of author Jose Dalisay Jr and his wife, June featuring black-and-white photographs of their journey, from courtship, marriage, parenting, and being senior citizens.
Claude Tayag (b. 1956): Painter, sculptor, and restaurant owner who loves to cook, presents three series of woodblock prints on handmade paper, “Estampita Sto. Niño,” “ Estampita Santos Series 1” and “ Estampita Mahal na Birhen.”
Loreto D. Apilado: A book and paper conservation specialist of Ortigas Foundation Library, he learned papermaking in Japan. Among his works is his trash bin art, titled “The Censored Trash,” first exhibited in a book art exhibition at Luz Gallery in 2002. Now, it is retitled “The Cen(EROS)d Trash: The Fertility Book.” It looks like a trash bin, but its swinging cover is a book filled with handmade paper and “censored” photographs.
A member of the International Association of Hand Papermaker and Paper Artists, Apilado has received the Excellent Prize for his artist book, “A Papermaker’s Bounty,” at the18th Imadate Exhibition of Contemporary Paper Art Works in Japan in 1999.
Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado (b.1944): A renowned figure of fine printmaking, he has several works in the exhibit, focusing on book covers in mixed media with titles such as “Van Gogh” 2024; “The Study of Magic,” 2024, “Moon in Cancer,” 2023; and several untitled works.
Elmer Borlongan (b.1967): Painter and printmaker. Some of his works that use ink on collage or acrylic, and ink on paper include “Cornucopia,” 2023; “Lost in Wilderness,” 2020; “Sacred Space,” 2024; and “Fellow Creatures,” 2023.
Asao Shimura (b. 1950): A Japanese master papermaker, book artist, and handmade paper researcher who has been living in sitio Poking, Kapangan, Benguet with his family since the early 1990s.
Shimura publishes handmade miniature books, mostly about the history of papermaking and his own travels. His books are made from local fibers such as piña and bound in Japanese traditional four-hole binding, all stitched by hand.
Benedicto Cabrera (b. 1942): A National Artist for Visual Art, 2006, he is one of the cofounders of the Baguio Arts Guild and runs his own BenCab Museum in Baguio.
His “Rogues Gallery,” 2024 is a mixed work in progress.
Angela Silva. (b.1955) a visual artist and printmaker based in Talisay, Negros Occidental known for her use of cyanotype, no-camera photography that produces its characteristic monochromatic blue image. In “Mayon Volcano- A Visual History,” 2004, she uses inkjet pigment inks, watercolor paper, woven mat, shell, and abaca string. Other works in the exhibit include “Polaroid Pilipinas,” 2007; “Blues Vol. 1 Edition 1,” 2024; and “Personas Vol. 1,” 2024.
Arty books unleashed
Offering a distinct and tactile visual experience, the exhibit reflects the unique heritage and aesthetic of traditional bookbinding and papermaking, especially its use of papyrus and parchment in the form of scrolls and codex for writing.
In many sense, it is a tribute to the history of the book and the ancient craft of bookmaking. Today, an artist’s book exists at the intersections of printmaking, papermaking, photography, poetry, visual arts, experimental narrative, graphic design, and publishing.
Other featured artists in the exhibit include: Aldrin Cyrill C. Acuña, Marz Aglipay, Diana Aviado, Santiago Bose (+),Mark Cockram (UK) , Leonida Dumsang, Mitch Garcia, Chris Juricich, Francine Lima, Hannah Nantes, Ginoe, Epjey Pacheco, Stephanie Syjuco, and Peter Thomas (US).