Utopia/Dystopia
Jenny Dowd
Yesterday I visited Mystery Print Gallery and Frame in Pinedale, WY to check out the exhibition Utopia/Dystopia: Inspiration and the Artist Book.
This exhibition started out at the Laramie County Library earlier this year and now a smaller section of the work is on display at Mystery Print.
The invitational bookarts show was curated by Sue Sommers, with the theme of Utopia/Dystopia.
Here's a peek...
Camellia El-Antably: Experiments in Utopia
"Experiments in Utopia" reviews the American experience with communities dedicated to a utopian vision.
Mark Ritchie: Imperfect Circle
The practice of group equine groundwork is as close to utopia as may be possible.
Cristy Anspach: Highway Reliquary - Mule Deer
This work is inspired by a desire to address the human/animal struggle that plays out daily on our roadways.
Conor Mullen: Facts About Fallout
A hand-made PSA that compares ideas of utopia/dystopia through a repurposing of words/images once published by the U.S. FCDA and the DoD.
Holland Morelli: Dystopian Flora
A study of plants as sentient beings, leaves as fresh and plant forms/structures as art.
Tawni Shuler: Warrior Rabbits
After recently moving to the southwest desert, my attention has turned to the jackrabbit and the folklore of the Jackalope, a mythical creature with the body of a rabbit and sprouting the horns of a deer. Jackrabbits can live in the extreme heat of a desert environment due to design of their feet, fur, ears and most importantly behavior adaptation.
Susan Durfee: Mystery
Sue Sommers: Liberty Walking Part 1 & Part 2
Liberty Walking: coin albums full of drawn feet. Honoring the Statue of Liberty, Emma Lazarus, immigrants, and walking women everywhere.
Nyla Hurley: The Railroaders
Patterns of consumption, dominance and production over people, wildlife, resources and the land.
Nyla Hurley: Nativist Nostalgia
My way of thinking is an addiction or even a disease: a disease of nostalgia.
Nathan Abel: Excavation: Found Scroll
Created from scraps of old work, this book illustrated the tenuous nature of the relationship between utopian and dystopian ideals.
Jenny Dowd: Flowers still grow
This altered book represents a dystopian world of redacted and heavily censored information. Growth is still possible.
(Check out my earlier post here for a little behind the scene peek into my concept and process.)
If you find yourself in the Pinedale area in the next month, be sure to stop by and see the show in person!
