Bright to speak on book art in America, 1960 to 1980

Bright to speak on book art in America, 1960 to 1980September 27, 2006Mary Beth Hintonmbhinton@syr.edu

Betty Bright, an independent historian and curator, will give a talk titled “Ravaged With Joy: Book Art in America, 1960 to 1980” Friday, Oct. 13, at 4 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor of E.S. Bird Library.

Bright will trace the origins of today’s artist’s book to the artistic and social tumult of the period from 1960-80, as well as discuss key works and larger societal influences that helped to shape book art. She will also consider the challenges of writing and reading about the history of this most interdisciplinary of art forms.

Bright received a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Minnesota in 2000. That research formed the basis of her book “No Longer Innocent: Book Art in America, 1960 to 1980” (Granary Books, 2005). She helped to start the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, working there for nine years as program director and curator of more than 50 exhibitions, several of which toured nationally with catalogs.

The History of the Book Seminar Series at Syracuse University is sponsored by the University Library, the School of Information Studies, The College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Office and the following A&S departments: Anthropology; English; History; Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Philosophy; and Religion.

This History of the Book lecture is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available in the Marion lot on Waverly Avenue.