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Gallery admission is free. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Please call for information on holidays. Click here for directions to the Center.


 
Current Exhibition


Livros do Cordel: Books on a String
In the Gallery: Fri May 9 - Fri Aug 1
Opening Reception: May 9, 7-9pm
String Theory: A Talk by Alastair Johnston: Jun 6, 7-9pm

Named after their display on clotheslines by street vendors, Brazil's Livros do Cordel are a form of street literature with roots in Europe. Becoming a dying artform, these cheap pamphlets tell the news as only poets can. Everyday fare, such as political scandals, arson, revenge, illicit affairs, and so on, are commemorated in doggerel verse, cheaply printed and illustrated with wood, linoleum, and rubber cuts. What they lack in technical skill they more than make up for with vibrant images and snappy rhymes. Some of the poets sing their works to guitar or boom box accompaniment to attract customers to the market place. We thank Stefan Bartkowiak of forum book art, Hamburg, Germany, for the generous loan of material for this exhibition.


Click here to see our on-line gallery of bookworks including the recent New West Coast Design: Books and Bartkowiak's Best: Book Art from the Hamburg Archives and many others.
Upcoming Exhibitions

Banned and Recovered: Artists Respond to Censorship
In the Gallery: Fri Aug 15 - Wed Nov 26
Opening Reception: Fri Aug 15, 6-8pm

Toni Morrison, J. K. Rowling, and Mark Twain are among the most suppressed authors of the 21st century, according to the American Library Association. In our schools and communities, intellectual freedom and freedom of expression are increasingly under attack. Banned and Recovered: Artists Respond to Censorship will present work by visual artists in response to books that have been repressed, censored or banned. Fifty artists, including many well-known names, are participating. To raise awareness of censorship as a constant and continuing threat to intellectual freedom, we will offer public programs this fall at several venues. We are happy to be collaborating with the African American Museum and Library at Oakland on this exhibition, which will span the two venues.

Vishnu Crew Stews Vindaloo Anew by Michael Bartalos
Vishnu Crew Stews Vindaloo Anew by Michael Bartalos


The Center has mounted numerous exhibitions, ranging from group works to individual retrospectives and featuring local, national and international book artists. Click here to see a list, with descriptions and pictures.

 

 

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