Book art in Cyprus: 1960s to date
Presentation and workshop by Marina Christodoulidou & Chryso Haralambous in the context of the Artist’s Book Festival (October 2019-October 2020)
Graphic Design Studio (GDS) 3
Artist’s books began to emerge in the visual arts in Cyprus from the 1960s. This presentation sets out to explore the open nature of the medium through Livres D’artistes: Book art in Cyprus since the 1960s, the first museum exhibition based solely on artists’ books which took place in 2017 at Zampelas Art Museum. It charted the progression of ‘book art’ to date and included artist’s books in their varying forms including livres d’artistes, one-of-a-kind, altered books, book sculptures, multiples and zines, photo books, sound, videos, installations, performances, e-pubs and limited editions. Cypriot artists, as well as internationals living on the island, continue to experiment with this medium and use it to express their concepts and practice. The presentation will explore the relationship between writing, semantics and the visual arts and how book art stands as a medium, and more specifically as an artist’s language. Following the talk, an interactive workshop will be held where participants are invited to engage with the different types of book art, as an in-promptu experimentation in expanding the medium’s definition.
Marina Christodoulidou is an independent curator and art writer based in Nicosia, Cyprus. Since 2014 she has been a member of the Cyprus Pavilion for the Venice Art Biennale. She recentlyparticipated in the residency “What Could or Should Curating Do?” in Belgrade. Her interests revolve around narrative and historicity in contemporary art, the political performativity of art, and the politics of the curatorial.
Chryso Haralambous is a freelance illustrator and cultural practitioner. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, she currently lives and works in Nicosia,Cyprus. She studied illustration in London and New York. Her work has been featured in various magazines and books, both for children and adults. She has also been involved with local art museums and exhibitions on the island since 2015.
Information on the Artist’s Book Festival for Young People
The aim of the Artists’ Book year-long festival is to bring young creatives into contact with the artist book as a distinctive and unique art and design form through which they can experiment.
Artists’ Books constitute an art medium that first emerged at the beginning of the 20th century and went on to become an original, distinct way of representing concepts and ideas. Artists and designers coming from a wide range of backgrounds, including both fine and applied arts, work with this medium. Painters, printmakers, bookbinders, digital artists, illustrators and graphic designers, but also writers and poets, work either individually or collectively to produce artefacts under the Artists’ Books category. Artists’ Books are not mass-produced; only a certain, limited number gets printed.
The ways through which artists can experiment and create are limitless. The final books may be the result of a single technique or of a combination of different techniques, such as sculpture, painting, photography, etching or handwriting, combined with experimental typography, sound, and image. In our age of digital realities, the artist book is transforming via digital means. The finished product may look like a conventional book but it may also depart totally from it. For instance, it can be a collection of photographs that is unusually bound or contained within a box, a digital product, a comic book, a video, a flip book. an animation inspired by the artist book and so on.
In the context of the festival we will be organizing:
- Workshops & Presentations by experts on books and artist books
- Artist Book Exhibition by young creatives (highschool and university students)
- Artist talks and Symposium on Artist Books
- Awards
To take part in the Artist Book Exhibition for young people that will take place in March 2020, participants are expected to produce an original artist book or digital artwork, using any technique they deem suitable for the subject/theme they will choose to work on.
The deadline for submissions is 13th of March 2020.
Interested educators and facilitators can contact us for scheduling presentations or workshops, regarding the festival, either at your premises or at the University of Nicosia.
For more information, for scheduling workshops and for taking part in the festival please email:
Maria Stavride: [email protected]; +35722842252, Lecturer in Graphic Communication programme
Evi Tselika: [email protected]; +35722842694, Assistant Professor in Fine Art programme
Department of Design and Multimedia, University of Nicosia | https://www.unic.ac.cy/amd/
https://www.facebook.com/artcompetitionandexhibitionyoungpeoplecy
