Ran from Jan 16, 2007 to Feb 24, 2007
Layton Gallery Sacred Texts/Contemporary Forms exhibit explores spiritual traditions
The artists’ interpretations of timeless and varied spiritual messages
through 70 plus works raise questions that art and faith often pose –
a search for meaning and connections to both the past and the future.
The works in Sacred Texts/Contemporary Forms represent such faith
traditions as Buddhism, Christianity, Baha’ism, Hmong shamanism, Islam,
Judaism, Maya and Wicca. They are as simple as penned books in an indigenous
Spanish dialect by a shaman from Chiapas, Mexico, and feather “books”
by an Ojibwa from St. Ignace, Michigan, that are more sculptural objects than
traditional books.
But they are also as detailed and crafted as seven digital facsimiles from
the Saint John’s Bible, the first bible to be written and illustrated
in the Benedictine monastic tradition in more than 500 years. Commissioned by
Saint John’s Abbey and Saint John’s University, the bible has been
created using ancient techniques (eggs, quills, calf-skins, and hand-ground
inks with gold, silver and platinum) combined with modern touches, such as strands
of DNA gracefully entwined up the branches of Jesus’ ancestral tree, to
produce a contemporary masterpiece.
And they include the idea of the book as an interactive object in a variety
of ways, including four ancient texts that viewers can manipulate on a kiosk.
According to Fedorchuk, who traveled the country for a year doing research,
“The exhibition engages the viewer through varied access points, both
familiar and unfamiliar, in exploring sacred texts as interpreted by contemporary
artists working with digital and traditional media. The processes of thought
and physical action that are the artists’ methods of creation compel viewers
to ‘bear witness’ to the journey of the text. This journey is one
of history, of the solitary works of the artists, and finally, of a personal
response.”
Other exhibition works, which are on loan from artists, library collections
and fine book dealers, include:
Root Words: An Alphabetic Exploration, by Lynne Avadenka in
collaboration with Mohamed Zakariya, of the Hebrew and Arabic languages through
seven calligraphically rendered words whose meanings are the same and whose
pronunciations are close. The words are framed by images made by Avadenka inspired
by the combined beauty of the Hebrew and Arabic letterforms. The book opens
to 77 inches; its 16 leaves are bound concertina style with 28 folios. Avadenka
will participate in the first of three panel discussions accompanying the exhibit
in February
Midnight Song: by Caren Heft with text by Alan Govenar: A
six-page narrative on Hmong shaman Boua Xou Mua; the spiritual leader of his
people who was a mercenary for the French and the CIA in Laos. The book is printed
in an eclectic page size and includes one of the shaman’s poems. Laid
in a fitted compartment is a CD “The Music of the Hmong People of Laos:
Documentary Arts” by the shaman.
Incantations by Mayan Women: Amber Past and the Taller Leñateros
paper and bookmaking collective: the first book Mayan people have created and
bound in paper of their own making in nearly 500 years. A strikingly beautiful
volume made from 295 pages with silk-screen illustrations. The cover is a three-dimensional
rendering of the face of Kaxall, Mayan goddess of the wilderness, in recycled
cardboard mixed with corn silk and coffee. The book contains spells and hymns
recorded by the women that are transcribed and translated from Tzotzil into
Spanish and English.
Fragments of Light II: conceived and designed by Kelly Driscoll;
translated by Zahra Partove. One of only 35 copies, each comprising seven plates
of Depp Glass, each plate with a laser etch of the English translation of the
verse of 13th century Sufi philosopher and poet Jalaluddin Mohammad Rumi. The
laser etches of this extraordinarily beautiful book sculpture, which includes
a laser etch of the original Persian verse, are visible to the viewer through
to the bottom from the top.
Sacred Geography: Poems of the Himalaya and Tibet, by Mary
Heebner in collaboration with her daughter, Sienna Craig, whose 12 sonnets are
printed on handmade pulp-painted paper by the artist. The book’s format
depicts the loose-leafed books of Buddhist sutra and classical texts of Nepal’s
Mustang district and Tibet. It was inspired by Heebner’s visits to her
daughter in Nepal and Tibet, by the sacred colors of striped mani (Tibetan prayers)
etched into a wall of boulders, and by ammonite fossils known as saligram in
Sanskrit and Nepali.
Sacred Texts/Contemporary Forms continues the Culture in Transition
series inaugurated by MIAD in 2006 to explore the rapidly changing nature of
our global culture. It and its three accompanying panel discussions are supported
in part by grants from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Humanities
Council. The panels will be held at MIAD, Wednesdays, February 7, 14, 21; 7
– 9 p.m. They are:
- Contemporary Book Arts, 2/7/07 – An historical perspective
of the exhibit’s contemporary books and how and why they were made (Artist
Avadenka will participate in this panel).
- Sacred Texts, 2/14/07 – Representatives of the exhibition’s
myriad faith traditions will discuss the roles of historical texts and their
current use.
- The Digital Future of Books, 2/21/07 – A discussion
of how digital technology is changing the dissemination of information using
sacred texts to move toward broader issues.
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