Scientists, Book Artists, and Poets Reflect on Soil and Our Environment
Exhibition dates: August 6, 2015 to December 30, 2015
Exhibition venue: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound,
Tacoma, Washington, USA 98416
Entry Deadline: April 29, 2015
THEME – 2015 is the United Nations International Year of the Soil. Poets and book artists can join soil scientists in making the soil visible! Soil is the Earth’s delicately structured biological skin—something far more complex than dirt, which is what we buy at garden-supply stores or sweep out of our houses. A multilayered resource that is essential to the water cycle, soil anchors and feeds forests, prairies, and farmed fields. Every terrestrial ecosystem and all our foods sprout from soil, and soil supports many burrowing animals and an amazing biodiversity of microbes, insects, arthropods, and worms—many yet to be scientifically described. For many, soil is sacred ground. As essential as soil is, few people appreciate this crucial resource or promote its health. Many human practices, such as industrial lead and arsenic pollution threaten human and soil health. We are seeking book artists and poets who can offer fresh, intriguing perspectives on soil’s value.
BOOK ARTISTS AND POETS: This exhibition is open to poets and book artists worldwide.
RESOURCES: We hope that participating in this exhibit will offer book artists and poets a chance to learn more about soil. Please use the links and resources on this page to learn more about dirt and soil.
ARTIST BOOK ENTRIES: We welcome book and paper arts works created either as an edition or as one-of-a-kind. Artist books, sculptural books, book objects, altered books, zines, broadsides, and sculptural pieces are all encouraged. We welcome collaborative works between poets, scientists, and book artists. Because this exhibition will be held in the Collins Memorial library, books that contain living organisms (such as mold, fungus, or loose soil) will not be accepted. Flat fine art prints and photographs are not appropriate for this show, unless they are sculptural or apply some type of book arts process. All artist books are limited to 24 inches in any direction when displayed.
POETRY ENTRIES: Poems are limited to 25 lines; the total includes the title, 2 blank lines before the body of the poem, epigraphs, and so on. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but previously published poems are not eligible. We encourage you to write in your preferred language but, if you do so, to also provide an English translation. If you are submitting an artist book containing one or more of your own poems, the book will be juried only by the book arts jurors unless you also separately submit the poetry for the poetry jurors’ consideration. If you do so, the artist book would be considered one of your possible total of three entries for this exhibition, and each poem would be considered another entry. (If you do not separately submit an original poem that’s in one of your artist books, the poem—which will not be judged—may be a previously published one.)
JURYING: The Book Arts entries will be juried by Lucia Harrison, PhD, Book Artist, Emeritus Faculty The Evergreen State College and founding member of Puget Sound Book Artists; Susan Aurand, MFA, Visual Artist, Emeritus Faculty The Evergreen State College and recipient of Washington State Arts Commission Art in Public Places Commissions; and Abir Biswas, PhD, Earth Scientist and Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College. The Poetry entries will be juried by William Kupinse, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of the English Department at The University of Puget Sound; Sharon A. Sharp, PhD, Poet, Book Artist, Editor, and past-president of the North Carolina Poetry Society, from Boone, North Carolina; and Peggy Burge, MA, MLS, Humanities Librarian at The University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library.
ONLINE AND PRINT CATALOGS: The University of Puget Sound will publish a complete online catalog, plus a full-color print catalog of the artist books and poems included in this exhibition. In an effort to avoid entry fees, all submitting artists will be encouraged but not required to purchase a print catalog, via online ordering. Information about the ordering process for the print catalog and its price will be provided at a later date.
DISPLAY OF ARTIST BOOKS AND POETRY: This exhibition will be displayed at The University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library and will include the work of book artists, poets, scientists and environmental educators. We will reproduce the poems as computer-printed broadsides and display them on the walls and in cases. If the poem is written in a language other than English, both the original poem and the English translation will be displayed. Due to the public nature of this exhibition space, the artist books will be in locked display cases, unless other arrangements have been made with the artist. Since we feel artist books need to be handled to be fully appreciated, we will be open to artists’ requests for book displays outside of cases, as space allows.
ENTRIES: A maximum of three works total may be submitted by each poet or book artist. If the entry is an artist book that includes an original poem and the poem is also submitted separately, this will be considered two entries. Entries must be received online no later than midnight on April 29, 2015. Artists and poets submitting to this exhibition will be notified via email. The curator reserves the right to decline any accepted artist books upon delivery if the condition or quality is other than represented in the electronic entry.
ONLINE SUBMISSION: All submissions will be made online. https://Dirt.formstack.com/forms/dirt_entry_form ( please note, if the link does not open, please cut and paste into your browser)
FEES: No Entry Fee
