Watkinson Acquires Three New Artists’ Books, Courtesy of Booklyn

by Casey Machenheimer, Special Collections and Archives Librarian for Public Services, Research, and Outreach

Watkinson Library adds three new artists’ books to its collections. Two of these books will be added to the Enders Ornithology Collection. These books were brought to the library courtesy of Booklyn, an artist-run, non-profit organization with the mission to “promote artists’ books as art and research material and to assist artists and organizations in documenting, exhibiting, and distributing their artwork and archives within the academic market.”

Erik Ruin, Until We Can See Each Other As Free Human Beings, 2024, text, Rosa Luxemburg, edition of 20, screenprint

Ruin’s book features the letters of Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg during her imprisonment from 1916-1918. There are also several references to well-known works throughout the book, such as the reference to a plate from John James Audubon’s Birds of America in the image above.

Roger Peet, The Smoke Inside, 2024, edition of 35, linocut, letterpress, ash ink

This work by Peet features interviews conducted with three formerly-incarcerated firefighters. It is notably printed from handmade ash ink that came from the charcoal left by the 2020 wildfires in Oregon. As shown above, the book can be folded out to take in the full effect of the billowing smoke illustration.

Candace Hicks, Please Remember to Rewind Your Mind, 2024, edition of 50, laser cut acrylic, digital print

Hicks’ work encourages readers to interact with the text by physically winding the spools in order to read the short memoir set in a 1999 Blockbuster.

The Watkinson Library would like to extend its thanks to the artists, Booklyn, and Marshall Weber for these acquisitions!