I am thrilled to participate in a virtual panel discussion with Kadin Henningsen and Sara White at Tulane, Thursday, April 8 at 2:00pm CT. We will introduce and discuss our artist books that are housed in the permanent collections at the Howard Tilton Memorial Library.
The event is free and open to the public, however registration is required.
2020 - Free Artist Book
2020 is a tribute and an offering to individuals whose lives were lost as a result of racially motivated police violence - deaths that galvanized anti-racist action across the globe and helped to bring clarity not only to the ways that racist systems are life-threatening, but also the connectedness in the ways that these systems work against indigenous and communities of color. Many of the names listed in 2020 were not mentioned in the national news cycles. They are more than a group of names, more than a number; their deaths contribute to the conversation. The image featured in 2020 is a composite of flowers grown throughout the year in my garden, my daily refuge after listening to the morning news.
I created 2020 for a special submission to the Quarantine Public Library (QPL) with the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color collective, which brings scholars of book history and print culture into conversation and collaboration with Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) book artists, papermakers, curators, letterpress printers, and printmakers to build community and support systems.
About the Quarantine Public Library
Quarantine Public Library is a repository of books made by artists. The works published here are for anyone to freely download, print and assemble—to keep or give away.
This collaborative project was dreamed up by Katie Garth and Tracy Honn in May 2020. We love artists’ books, zines, and libraries; art and poetry; words and pictures. We wanted to make something to share as many of us are staying at home, disconnected from art, books, and one another. The project is not about COVID-19, but is explicitly of its time.
QPL books can be printed individually for free or the entire library can be downloaded in one file for a small fee. All proceeds will be donated to @everyoneon a nonprofit that connects low-income families to affordable internet service and computers. Folding instructions are on the QPL website.
Black is Every Color, detail
I was recently interviewed by Textileartist.org, an on-line resource for fiber art artists, curators, collectors, and enthusiasts based in the UK. Read the interview here.
Would you like to have a remote reading, viewing, or presentation of my work? I am available for one-on-one virtual meetings as well as formal presentations. Use the Contact Form to discuss discuss your needs and to arrange scheduling. I look forward to chatting with you!
Fire, open
I was recently interviewed by Voyage Dallas Magazine, part of the Voyage Group of magazines based in Los Angeles. Click the image below to read the article.
Alisa Banks in her studio
When is Now
Read MoreWrongful Termination addresses race-based discriminatory practices. Starting in the 1980’s, multiple suits have been filed against employers, schools, and other agencies by people of color (primarily women) who were fired, passed over for promotion or hiring, or sent home for wearing their natural hair. Wrongful is a unique altered book featuring two original poems and texts from newspaper editorials.
In 2019, California and New York became the first and second states respectively, to pass the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair or CROWN Act, to end race-based hair discrimination. According to a study sponsored by Dove:
A Black woman is 80% more likely to change her natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work.
Black women are 50% more likely to be sent home or know of a black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair.
More information about the CROWN Act can be found here. The CROWN Act is not about feeling good about oneself or one’s body, but about fighting discriminatory practices based on race.
A special thanks to Annie Howe, for the warm welcome she extended to her Baltimore studio earlier this year. Annie introduced me to a new knife and insisted that I bring home the samples that were used to carve out the book. I had so much fun at our visit that I didn’t think to take photos!
This tool was created for Modeling the Message: A Fusion of the Verbal and the Visual, a talk I gave at Scripps College for the Frederick W. Goudy Lecture Series, February 6, 2020. Click the button below to download your free standard copy of this tool and use it to evaluate your project. Print the pattern on regular paper. Folding instructions are included in the document.
To Use: Spell out the 4 principles - Communication, Design, Form, or Pattern while opening and closing the model. Read and answer the question that opens. Flip up the corresponding triangle for action tips.
For an interesting read about the cootie catcher, the form used for this tool, see the article linked here.
Image: When Is Now (Afro)
Happy New Year!
I am attending the CBAA conference in New Orleans to start out 2020 and will have several books for viewing at the member’s showcase.
Planted is housed in the Special Collections and Archives Library at Reed College, located in Portland, OR.
The library holdings include rare books, manuscripts, calligraphy and letter forms, and an artist book collection as well as others. More information is located on the Special Collections page where one can learn more about the origin and focus of the various collections. The Artist Book Collection has a searchable database. It appears that all works are not accessible via the digital library, but one is able to access holdings using the main search function. The collections are open to the public. The Visit Us page outlines instructions for visitors wishing to access work.
Planted consists of one deluxe and a standard edition of four. The edition featured above, which is in the Reed collection is a standard edition. It features an essay on gardening and how gardens have the potential to connect to ancestors.
Bone Straight, Afro Centric, and Bad Hair are three books housed in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library. The Center is located in Manhattan and “is generally recognized as the world’s leading research library devoted exclusively to documenting the history and cultural development of peoples of African descent worldwide.” The Center was founded during the Harlem Renaissance, and since that time, the collection has grown to over 10 million items.
The Center offers diverse programming, including lectures, exhibitions, classes, and workshops in addition to supporting research. Many of the collections are available digitally. Access to the Center is free, but a library pass is required for entry. Visitors who do not reside in NYC are invited to apply for a free library card on-line, which is valid for three months.
The Center has an extensive website that also includes helpful tips. In addition to obtaining a library card, visitors are encouraged to reach out to the staff to reserve materials in advance. Researchers can search the collections on-line prior to visiting and tours are also available and can be arranged in advance. Personal items must be checked in before entering the research areas and check in service is free.
Hair fiber is feature in several of my works, including the three that are in the Shomburg collection. Sometimes, the subject of the works are hair culture and sometimes not, but these three in particular are. Afro Centric is celebratory, while Bone Straight is a witnessing. Bad Hair is about discriminatory employment practices.
