CODEX Symposium 2007

Book Fair 2007 Book Fair 2007 exhibitors symposium 2007

The Lectures:

The following speakers delivered lectures for the Codex Symposium at the UC Berkeley Art Museum on February 13, 14, and 15, 2007.

Robert Bringhurst - Poet, Translator, and Typographer
“Spiritual Geometry : the book as a work of art”

Sarah Bodman - Research Fellow, Centre for Fine Print Research, UWE, Bristol, School of Art, Media and Design
“The hybrid lexicon: an overview of contemporary artists publishing in the UK”

Felipe Ehrenberg - Artist, Mexican Diplomat, former publisher of the Beau Geste Press, London
“Cutting and pasting : metaphor of life”

Dr. Stefan Soltek - Director of the Klingspor Museum, Offenbach, Germany
“Verso recto : bookart as a matter of sidesteps ...”

Felipe Ehrenberg, born in 1943 in Mexico City, initially trained as a printer and a graphic artist. Recognized within Mexico as a draughtsman and a painter, he is better known on an international level for his achievements in less orthodox forms of visual communication. He is especially respected as a book artist. While living in England in the early seventies, Ehrenberg co-founded the Poligonal Workshop and later, the Beau Geste Press. Under his guidance, BGP published his work and that of a number of important visual poets, conceptualists, neo-dadaists and experimental artists, many of whom were linked to the Fluxus movement.

Ehrenberg has held almost 100 one-person shows and has participated in some 200 major group shows and biennials in the world’s major capitals. He is an assiduous essayist and specializes in art theory and contemporary culture. A selected anthology of his newspaper columns, entitled Broken glasses and the eye that looks at them, was published in 1996 by Mexico’s Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.

Sarah Bodman is a book artist and Research Fellow for Artists’ Books at the Centre for Fine Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. At the CFPR, many aspects of book arts are explored: from the conception and history of the artist’s book, to creative processes and output, current developments and critical assessments of the subject. Through these projects and collaborations, the CFPR aims to widen critical discourse within the book arts field. Some recent projects include Arcadia id Est, a touring exhibition of 116 artists' books on nature and the landscape; Artists' Books Creative Production and Marketing, a free download publication for artists and collectors; Bookmarks and Librarians Artists’ Books.

Sarah is the editor of The Artist’s Book Yearbook a bi-annual publication, published by Impact Press, and The Blue Notebook journal of artists' books. Sarah is also the author of Creating Artists’ Books, published by Watson-Guptill. Sarah’s own artists’ books are regularly exhibited and are held in many national and international collections, including Tate Britain and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Yale Center for British Art and MOMA, USA; and Institute of the Arts, Canberra, Australia.

Robert Bringhurst is widely regarded as one of Canada’s finest living poets. He was also for many years a contributing editor of the legendary San Francisco magazine Fine Print and has written several books about the visible forms of language. One of these, The Elements of Typographic Style, is widely regarded as the bible of the craft. It is now in its third English edition and has recently been translated into Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. A lifelong student of languages, Bringhurst is also widely admired for his translations from classical Greek and from classical Haida (a Native American language spoken in southeastern Alaska and adjacent British Columbia).

As a poet, Bringhurst is distinguished by his propensity to write for several voices at once. The Center for Book Arts in New York recently celebrated its 30th anniversary by publishing a handsome edition of his long poem New World Suite No. 3, a work for three simultaneous voices. The CBA’s edition of this complex work was designed by Bringhurst, printed letterpress by Barbara Henry, and bound under the direction of Hedi Kyle.

Stefan Soltek was born in 1956 in Cologne, Germany. His studies of art history and classical archaeology focused on research topics in medieval and modern periods. He has had plenty of volunteer jobs with museums in Germany, England and in New York City. He was a member of the juries for the “50 Schönste Bücher” (2002-2006). He has published catalogues and essays concerning typography, artist’s books and graphic design. After 12 years in the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt, he became the main head of the Klingspor Museum in 2002.