Artist Books

Title

Magnificent beast / Laura Russell.

Description

Cover title. ; Limited edition of 25 copies, signed and numbered by the artist. ; Commissioned for inclusion in Just one look, an exhibition of contemporary book arts held in the Special Collections Division of the University of Washington Libraries from March 31-July 29, 2016. ; The title is taken from a line in the poem: To hurry and witness this last kill of the day--And such a magnificent beast--As if he were absent. He heard his name--Artist's website, September 7, 2016 ; Kevin Steele's multiple layer accordion structure, with orange, brown, and archival pigment-printed panels of Canson Colorline papers. Orange and brown panels have rectangles cut out of the middles, allowing the reader to view the images and text from multiple angles. Accordion structure is attached at either end to handmade paper-covered boards. The handmade paper, which is made to resemble animal hide, is by Andrea Peterson at Hook Pottery Paper. Front board has an inset paper label letterpress printed with the title. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist in pen inside the back cover. Held together with a handmade paper belly band. Issued in a four-flap paper wrapper with title label attached to the front. The Art/Music Library has number 5 of 25.

An artist book about Diana, the Goddess of Hunting and her encounter with Actaeon, the deer hunter ... Poor Actaeon, looking through trees at Diana bathing in a river, had no idea the merciless Goddess would turn him into a stag, only to be torn to pieces and devoured by his own hounds. At the same time I was impressed by Diana's fierce will, independence, strength, her love of nature, her protectiveness over the young, and her power over men. Diana and Actaeon resonated with me strongly because of my family history: I was born into a deer hunting family in Michigan, a sport where traditionally men hold all the power. This made me want to explore the idea of the powerful woman huntress--a modern day Diana. Today, women hunters are the sport's fastest growing demographic. They are skilled with bows and guns, love the thrill of the hunt, the community, the competition, the victory of a trophy, and providing food for their families. I am intrigued by the idea that women have innate qualities that might make them better hunters such as patience and perseverance--Artist's website, September 7, 2016. http://laurarussell.net/store/magnificent-beast/

Subject

Art Media Workroom
N7433.4 .R867 M34 2016

Diana (Roman deity) ; Actaeon (Greek mythological character)

Hunting in art. ; Deer in art. ; Women hunters Pictorial works ; Feminism in art. ; Autobiographical memory in art. ; Women hunters.

Toy and movable books. ; Paper, Handmade. ; Artists' books Oregon Portland 2016. ; Pictorial works.

Discover UR

Creator

Russell, Laura, 1964- book artist.

Publisher

Portland, Oregon : Simply Books, Ltd., 2016.

Format

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 9 x 31 cm (in case 27 x 33 cm)

Contributor

Peterson, Andrea (Andrea A.), papermaker. ; Steele, Kevin, book artist, book designer.