The Library Presence Project
April 7th 4:45 PM EST Register: bit.ly/3uQhv9v
The Yale Program in the History of the Book invites you to attend a public panel discussion with participants in the 2020-2021 series.
This year, the program has undertaken the Presence Project, a creative and critical project centering on the meanings of presence in relation to the material text. To be present in the archive, to be present with the material text, to be found or lost, survive, bear witness: these are only a few of the valences by which the role of presence is charged in relation to the material text. The tenacious power of these relationships has only been emphasized by the political circumstances of our historical moment.
Each of our participants brings an original and incisive critical voice to their work as book historians. We are thrilled that they have accepted our invitation to take part:
Tia Blassingame: A book artist and printmaker exploring the intersection of race, history, and perception, Tia Blassingame often incorporates archival research and her own poetry in her artist’s book projects for nuanced discussions of racism in the United States. In 2019, Blassingame founded the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color collective to bring Book History and Print Culture scholars into conversation and collaboration with BIPOC book artists, papermakers, curators, letterpress printers, printmakers for building community and support systems. She is an Assistant Professor of Art at Scripps College and serves as the Director of Scripps College Press, an experimental letterpress and bookbinding laboratory.
Jesse Meyer is President of Pergamena Parchments and Leathers in Montgomery NY. He has been producing animal skin parchment material and researching the process since he began working at the Meyer family tannery after receiving his BFA fine arts degree. He is fascinated by the large and subtle range of qualities that can be elicited from animal skins.