As with most book art (and almost all sculpture), Jody Alexander’s works celebrate the haptic so warmly that I wonder how an owner or viewer resists handling them. And celebrating the book arts (Alexander makes her own paper in the Eastern style), surely these bookworks on display should be touched —like the books on the shelves of public libraries — until they take on the wear and patina of fine books. Imagine the installation — call it “Touch This” — and what viewers would see and feel decades from now. A visit to her studio WishiWashi might come closest to this imagined event.
Alexander teaches at the San Francisco Center for the Book and blogs at Jalex Books Blog . As of this posting (12 May 2013), however, the most recent entry for information on exhibits, classes and new artwork is 5 July 2012.
Update:
Erin Fletcher at Flash of the Hand has tracked down Jody Alexander for an interview (2 August 2013).
While reading the interview, you will begin to understand the depth of Jody’s commitment to her materials and characters. This exclusive connection is the cause for such a well-rounded body of work. Her dedication to teaching is just as exceptional, offering her skills to several venues both online and in person. Read the interview after the jump and come back each Monday during the month of August for more posts on Jody Alexander.
The photo above comes from Alexander’s series Sedimentals. This series, which “takes the form of tea staining cotton to replicate the colors of aged and browned bookspines and swaddling or layering them to create a safe haven for these beautiful objects, enshrining them”, is an interesting instance of book art to which Garrett Stewart’s Bookwork: Medium to Object to Concept to Art applies. Check out Alexander’s site, read Stewart’s book and see if you agree.
MUSUBU Books and Art: Tokyo – California – Urawa Abstracts. Exhibition 12-24 September 2017 in Saitama, Japan; 17 April – 19 May 2018 in San Francisco, US. Co-organized with the Tokyo Bookbinding Club.
Online workshops with Jody Alexander. Accessed 19 September 2018.
Books On Books 