Lecture: The Literary Book as a Work of Art

Since 1976 Peter and Donna Thomas have worked collaboratively and individually to create books. They are currently touring the country in a gypsy wagon, stopping to give workshops and lectures. When they reach Vermont, Peter will give a lecture at UVM on August 27 and he and Donna will teach a one-day workshop for the Book Arts Guild of Vermont on August 28 in Williston. The lecture will be held on Friday, August 27 at 5:30 in the Special Collections Reading Room, Bailey/Howe Library, University of Vermont.

“We live in exciting times,” Thomas says. “Because of the personal computer the book has been set free from servitude to information…free to become an aesthetic object, a work of art.” In his lecture, Peter Thomas will address such questions as: What is a book? What is an artists’ book? What are the aesthetic attributes of an artists’ book? What is the history of the artists’ book? Where does one find one? How does one look at one as a work of art? He will talk from the context of his own work, using books that he and Donna have made as examples. He will also sing a song or two on his ukulele book.

Under the previous imprint of The Good Book Press, and the current imprint, Peter and Donna Thomas: Santa Cruz, their books have been shown in individual and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and have been purchased for collections around the world, including the University of Vermont.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information about the lecture, call 802-656-1493 or email uvmsc@uvm.edu For more information about the workshop, visit the Book Arts Guild of Vermont web site at http://bookartsguildvt.wordpress.com/