Spineless Wonders: In Touch
This latest in the Spineless Wonders series of events looks at small press and artists’ publications through the theme of touch. Artists, makers, academics and librarians will consider the book as a tactile object, asking how artists’ publications themselves invite and explore the sense of touch. We’ll also be thinking about the challenges and questions artists’ books, ephemera and other unconventional material might pose in the archive: while the feel and texture of a book-object is often a key part of interacting with it, how does touch and handling impact on the preservation and conservation of such material?
Featured Media
Friday 15 March 2024, 11:00am–5:00pm
Online via Zoom
Free, book via Eventbrite.
11:00–11:10am: Introduction and welcome
Clare Lees, Institute of English Studies; Sharon Morris, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL; Gill Partington, Institute of English Studies.
11:10am–12:50pm: Session 1: Handling; touching; reading; making
A panel of artists, poets and academics will discuss the often complex interaction between hands and books. Reading has always been a physical as well as cognitive act, involving manipulating and handling, but we will be looking at some artists’ books that highlight and investigate the tactile nature of reading and interacting with the page, as well as the physical craft of making.
Kelly Hoffer (University of Michigan)
Tim Brennan and Paul Wakelam
Altea Grau Vidal (Slade School of Fine Art, UCL)
Stevie Ronnie (Artist and Poet)
Emma Smith (Hertford College, Oxford)
Chair: Gill Partington, Institute of English Studies
LUNCH 1:00–2:00pm
2:00–3:00pm - Session 2: Making and the handmade
A discussion and sharing of artists’ books, zines and small publications in progress with students at the Slade, UCL and the School of Art, Aberystwyth University, facilitated by Sharon Morris, Slade School and Flora McLachlan, Aberystwyth.
Aberystwyth:
Nathan Virgil
Gabriel Vanehuin
Mira Wasserman
Oscar Faulkner
Brita Safronov
Sarah Gibson
Liz Leister
Slade:
Gwenllian Davenport
Beatriz Santos
LaviniaHarrington
Anna Curzon Price
Hannah Stanley
Lily Petch
Marika Tyler-Clark
Meghan Salisbury
Heddwen Campbell
Rebekka Homann
BREAK 3:00–3:15pm
3:15–5:00pm - Session 3: Handling in the archives
Special Collections have to negotiate a balance between preservation and access, between keeping books intact and allowing readers to touch, read and manipulate. Artists’ books, ephemera and unusual book formats can make this balance especially tricky. Librarians and archivists from across the UK demonstrate some of the most unique and fascinating artefacts in their collections, discussing the challenges and questions they raise in terms of access, touching, handling and preservation.
Liz Lawes (UCL)
Tansy Barton (Senate House Library, University of London)
Tabitha Tuckett (UCL)
Leila Kassir (Senate House Library, University of London)
Matthew Shaw (Queens College Library, Oxford)
James Brigden (Homerton College Library, Cambridge)
Alex Kither (SOAS, University of London)
Gustavo Grandal Montero (Tate Library and Archives)
Chair: Gill Partington, Institute of English Studies
Spineless Wonders
Spineless Wonders is an international network of artists, writers, academics and librarians, creating and researching small press publications including artists’ books.
Spineless Wonders' core members are the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL; Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study; The Department of Art & Performance, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University; and department of English, Dundee University; UCL Special Collections, Modernism, Rare Book and Manuscript collections; Senate House Library, University of London; department of English, Stanford University, Stanford CA.
