Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Bigest book in the world


King Mindon of Burma wanted to leave something to posterity. As a book lover he thought that literature was one of the most valuable elements of an enlightened society so he planned to leave a book behind him. Not any old book though – this would be the largest book in the world.
The King wanted the book to last for five thousand years so paper would not do. In 1860 he started the construction in Mandalay (then the capital of Burma). At the base of the Mandalay Hill still stands the largest book in the world. Its dimensions are staggering: the book has seven hundred and thirty leaves and one thousand six hundred and forty pages. Each one is made from local marble and has around one hundred lines of writing upon it.
It doesn’t end there, though – each of the pages is three and a half feet wide and five feet tall. In order to stand freely these pages are five inches thick. Each of these stone tablets has its own roof and they are all arranged around a central, golden pagoda – known as the Kuthodaw Pagoda. The book itself does not tell the story of Mindon’s life – many persons of royal lineage would no doubt be tempted to give a version of their own history dressed, no doubt, in flowery hyperbole. Each page is contained within its own glistening white pagoda to protect it from the elements.
Together the rows of pagodas form the biggest book in the world - and this is how Kuthodaw is now known. The book contains the Pail Canon, which is a collection of scriptures in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. First written down over two thousand years ago, Mindon felt that these scriptures would be a fitting testament to his life. We know this because the seven hundred and thirtieth leaf of the book records the actions of the king for posterity.

The construction itself is a remarkable story. The marble was quarried from thirty miles away and taken by river to Mandalay. When the work began in 1860 the stones were worked in an enormous shed and hundreds of senior monks were involved in the editing of the sacred scriptures. Each stone has up to one hundred lines of inscription upon it – and these were originally filled with gold ink.
It took eight years to complete the book and it was opened to the public in 1868. Originally, each of the tablets had a precious gem in a casket on its top. When the British invaded the north of Burma in the 1880s the gems were stolen. There was a restoration in the 1890s but it took till the latter part of the twentieth century for the book to be restored to its old glory.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

FINAL PROJECT


FINAL PROJECTS ARE DUE MAY 2nd.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROJECT SHEET or go to the projects section.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Faculty Exhibition @ Dana Gallery

The University of Montana School of Visual Arts Faculty Show

April 1, 2011 – April 17, 2011

Dudley Dana and the Dana Gallery would like to extend an invitation to the opening reception for our April exhibition. 
Featuring works by University of Montana School of Art Permanent Faculty James Bailey, Kevin Bell, Mary Ann Bonjorni, Elizabeth Dove, Julia Galloway, Matt Hamon, Trey Hill, Beth Lo and Bobby Tilton.

Friday, April 1st, from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Opening Reception:

Friday, April 1, 2011

5:00 – 8:00 pm

Friday, March 18, 2011

Judy Pfaff: Visiting Artist

Renowned sculptor Judy Pfaff will present a lecture at The University of Montana at 6:10 p.m. Monday, April 11, in Social Science Building Room 356.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO HER WEBSITE.

The event, sponsored by the UM School of Art and the Jim and Jane Dew Visiting Artist Program, is free and open to the public.

With a stellar career spanning more than 30 years, Pfaff is widely regarded as one of the preeminent installation artists of our time. She is known for her lyrical and energetic manipulations of surprising materials, taking over gallery and alternative spaces for months at a time.

Pfaff is a professor of art and co-chair of the Department of Art at Bard College, Annendale on Hudson, New York. She was born in England and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale in 1973.

She has received numerous awards for her sculpture, installation, prints and drawings, including a United States Artists Fellowship, a Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and two National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships.

Pfaff said she believes in being a positive and encouraging teacher.

“My first time teaching at Queens College, I thought, ‘I don’t want one or two (good students),’” she said. “I want this whole thing to be an organism that grows together. I’m going to get better, and they’re going to get better.”

Nancy Princenthal of “Art in America” said: “Pfaff’s work has always been exuberant, lush and hospitable to the language of poetry and music. But it is based on a very no-nonsense approach to making art. Visual effects don’t interest her much; causes are more her style.

Like any good student of Post-Minimalism, Pfaff is interested in what happens if things are poured, gouged, pulled, punctured, striated; she favors first judgments and immediate results.”

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Student Exhibition opportunity via the Artist Collective

!!!CALL TO ARTISTS!!!

UMAC Non-Gallery Opportunities

The University of Montana Artist Collective (UMAC) is progressively seeking non-gallery places to displace student artwork on a rotation and needs interested artists to fill those spaces. The list of venues will grow over time but the first opportunity is upon us.

Deadline for Entry: 1 PM March 31st, 2011

This deadline is for the consideration for the first installment in Curry Health Center. UMAC will accept applications for these opportunities year round and consideration for further installments will have their own cut-off date.

Entry Fee: $5.00

The entry fee is a one-time fee per student to be entered into the pool of artists considered. The fee covers unlimited entries of work by an artist for the duration of their enrollment at The University of Montana.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be a student at The University of Montana. The applicant must also be enrolled in at least one class during the semester (excluding winter and summer) that the work will hang.

To Enter:

Visit the UMAC blog http://www.umacblog.blogspot.com and download the Non-Gallery Opportunities Entry Form. Email the form to UofM.Artist.Collective@gmail.com along with images of work to be considered make arrangements to deliver payment to a UMAC member. We Accept Cash and Check only. Make checks payable to The University of Montana Artist Collective.

Venue & Dates:

Curry Health Center

May 2011 - November 2011

Questions Email UMAC

UofM.Artist.Collective@gmail.com

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

EDIBLE Books 2011

Artists names are below their images.
Rachel Smith
Molly Crawford
Robert Lepiane
Florence Bingham
Shelby Johnson
Faith Steinbacher
Deegan Fox
Jackson Goodall
Anna Larsen
Lauren Patridge
Chelsea Blake

Lori Lynch
Katherine Ray
Isaiah Rossiter
Anna Larsen
Sarah Magar
William Serba

Sunday, February 27, 2011

16th Annual Juried Student Exhibition


DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: MARCH 3rd, 11:00-4:00 pm At the Gallery of Visual Arts CLICK HERE FOR FULL INFORMATION.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Edible Books


Ashley Hanna
Paula Scoogins

Due: Monday, March 7th

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Timothy C. Ely at Gonzaga (Mar. 19-July 31)

Timothy Ely's Website CLICK HERE
Info about exhibition "Secret Order" at the Jundt Art Museum CLICK HERE.


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Virtual Book Exhibition

(image: David Lusk)

The following link goes to the VIRTUAL MATRIX GALLERY, which is currently showing artist's books from the Spring 2010 Artist Book class. Click here to go to the gallery.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Biggest book in the world

King Mindon of Burma wanted to leave something to posterity. As a book lover he thought that literature was one of the most valuable elements of an enlightened society so he planned to leave a book behind him. Not any old book though – this would be the largest book in the world.
The King wanted the book to last for five thousand years so paper would not do. In 1860 he started the construction in Mandalay (then the capital of Burma). At the base of the Mandalay Hill still stands the largest book in the world. Its dimensions are staggering: the book has seven hundred and thirty leaves and one thousand six hundred and forty pages. Each one is made from local marble and has around one hundred lines of writing upon it.
It doesn’t end there, though – each of the pages is three and a half feet wide and five feet tall. In order to stand freely these pages are five inches thick. Each of these stone tablets has its own roof and they are all arranged around a central, golden pagoda – known as the Kuthodaw Pagoda. The book itself does not tell the story of Mindon’s life – many persons of royal lineage would no doubt be tempted to give a version of their own history dressed, no doubt, in flowery hyperbole. Each page is contained within its own glistening white pagoda to protect it from the elements.
Together the rows of pagodas form the biggest book in the world - and this is how Kuthodaw is now known. The book contains the Pail Canon, which is a collection of scriptures in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. First written down over two thousand years ago, Mindon felt that these scriptures would be a fitting testament to his life. We know this because the seven hundred and thirtieth leaf of the book records the actions of the king for posterity.

The construction itself is a remarkable story. The marble was quarried from thirty miles away and taken by river to Mandalay. When the work began in 1860 the stones were worked in an enormous shed and hundreds of senior monks were involved in the editing of the sacred scriptures. Each stone has up to one hundred lines of inscription upon it – and these were originally filled with gold ink.
It took eight years to complete the book and it was opened to the public in 1868. Originally, each of the tablets had a precious gem in a casket on its top. When the British invaded the north of Burma in the 1880s the gems were stolen. There was a restoration in the 1890s but it took till the latter part of the twentieth century for the book to be restored to its old glory.

Howard Munson

Howard Munson is a book artist and printmaker with an interest in experimental forms. His books are characterized by the exquisite craftmanship of his bindings and prints. The "naked" prints and drawings, enclosed within these crafted casings make the book arts the best medium for Munson's talents.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Donald Glasister

Donald Glaister is a book artist now living and working on Vashon Island, Washington, near Seattle. He began his bookbinding career after taking degrees in painting and sculpture from San Jose State College in California, and studying binding privately with Barbara Hiller in San Francisco and Pierre Aufschnieder and Roger Arnoult in Paris. His over thirty year professional career in design bookbinding has centered on the exploration, development and use of unexpected binding materials, visual humor and spontaneous visual expression, while working within the classical framework of the European binding form.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Not-Tom

"The idea for the Book Book Shelf came from the realisation of how many books are discarded on a regular basis. These particular books were to be thrown out at the end of a jumble sale and we wondered what more could be made of them. We like the idea that value can be added to many discarded items through ingenuity and redefinition of context. "
The other is called the Modern Book Printing located in Berlin, Germany. I don't know if
anyone has found this before, but figured I would send it anyway. According to
Wikipedia the sculpture roughly 3 tons and forty feet tall, taking about 3 days to build.
Apparently designed by employees at Scholz and Friends.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Karen Hanmer

See lots more work by Karen Hanmer by clicking here.