Saturday, June 27, 2015

Upcoming Posts and Other Musings

It's summer and things have been rather slow. While we wait for some excellent reviews of The Bindings of Trevor Jones, Tricks of the Trade by Jamie Kamph, and the catalog to Hello Hedi at 23 Sandy Gallery I offer this diversion.








It's summer, and what can be more seasonal than enjoying an excellent fermented beverage, in this case beer, especially when the label is designed by a well known graphic artist whose work some of us have had the honor to bind.


The beer, Bell's Two Hearted Ale, a nice play on the short story be Hemingway... The artist...? Ladislav Hanka, a friend of Jan Sobota and many others. His books Corn, County Survey, Scripta Naturae, and Opus Salvelinus were all bound for the 50 x 25 exhibit held at Southern Methodist University's Bridwell Library. Most recently Hanka published a memorial book, Remembering Jan Bohuslav Sobota, about his friend Jan Sobota that was bound by many of the same binders as in 50 x 25. You can see some of the bindings here. Hanka's archive is housed at Western Michigan University, also home to half of the 50 bindings in 50 x 25 - each binder bound two of the same title, with one going back to the artist...

Fishing is a large part of Hanka's life, often featured in his prints, and beautifully bound. So, open a Bell's Two Hearted Ale (if available in your area), crank up À la Poupée & the Chine-Collé's music, and take a look at this man's etchings.