Fourth Annual Bernstein Book Arts Lecture
Every Moment of a Book : Three Decades of Work by Julie Chen
By Natasha Veeser , Head of Communications , UW – Madison Libraries
Fourth Annual Bernstein Book Arts Lecture
For more than 30 years , Julie Chen has been unlocking a world of imagination through her artists ’ books , giving readers an experience that is artistic and playful and at the same time very intentional .
“ I use the analogy of a pocket calculator to help explain the relationship of a normal book to an artist ’ s book . Almost anyone can use a pocket calculator to do simple calculations just as almost anyone can read a book ,” said Chen . “ But a mathematician can take the same pocket calculator and unleash a huge amount of power that a typical person has no idea how to unlock and probably doesn ’ t even realize is in there . This is what a book artist does with the book form . There is a huge amount of power inherent in the book form vis-a-vis the reading experience that can be unlocked once an artist starts to work with it in an intentional way .”
Chen , who started the Flying Fish Press in 1987 , got her first start with artist books at Mills College during her graduate career . After receiving her undergraduate degree in studio art from UC Berkeley , she headed to Mills College , where she now teaches , and was instantly captivated by one program in particular : Book Arts .
“ When I went in for a studio visit , I was hooked from the moment I walked through the door ,” remembered Chen . “ I can ’ t really explain it , since I had no idea what any of the equipment was for , but it just felt right to me .”
Now , decades later , the student who had no idea how to correctly fold paper or sew a book has become an internationally known master , sought after for her meticulous threedimensional , movable books , and letterpress printed works . Her books often take months , a year , or even longer to create .
“ Each new book starts to take on a life of its own after a while and it ’ s my job as the artist to honor the direction that the book wants to go in ,” explained Chen .
On March 20 , 2018 , Chen was welcomed to the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus as the guest lecturer for the fourth annual Bernstein Books Arts Lecture , where she
16 | LIBRARIES Spring 2018