Autumn Update 2011

It ended up being a very busy Summer, though sadly not making any of the new work I have planned. 

I was however helping at the 3rd Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 in Denmark (June 2-5th), which was a great event, once again bringing together lots of lovely work and great people. 

Along with collating and designing the catalogue I also set up a Flickr account if you want to see pictures of what happened: www.flickr.com/photos/doveroddebookarts/

In August I began my new role as Festival Organiser for the new-look Doverodde Book Arts Festival IV & Symposium – 2012, which I hope will be as successful as the previous ones co-ordinated by my colleague Liz Hempel-Jørgensen. As before it will be at the Limfjordscentret in Doverodde, Hurup, Thy, Denmark. 

You can read more about all that on the social networking site I set up: www.nordicbookarts.ning.com or on www.bookarts-doverodde.dk

And now – after a break in far-off Skagen – October and November will involve new teaching and book fair experiences, meaning almost 4 lovely weeks in London.
Hope to see you at one of these events.
Happy autumn – the leaves have already been blown off the trees here in Denmark.

Up coming events autumn 2011

Book fairs:

The London Art Book Fair – stand no.50

September 23-25th 11am-6pm

Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX, UK

www.thelondonartbookfair.com

Admission FREE

Small Publishers Fair

November 11-12th 11am-7pm

Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL, UK
http://www.rgap.co.uk/spf.php

Admission FREE

Retrospective exhibition (2011)

 
From June 7th-26th, 2011 I'm having a small retrospective exhibition of my work from the 15 year period 1996-2010 as part of the Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 at Limfjordscentret Doverodde, Denmark.

The exhibition shows some of my earlier work, prototypes, sketches and notes for projects and later work including the installation: Cogs – a Book in the Machine (2006) and some original prints from Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary (2006).

Cogs – a Book in the Machine

They came, they flew – installation (2011)

A flock of birds.

They came, they flew – 2011

The installation opened on Friday June 3rd at 4pm with German composer and musician Regine Brunke performing her music piece: Hinter den Farben der Woeken /Behind the colours of the clouds (2008) for viola cello & verrophone (glass tube-instrument) which was a perfect match.

Regine Brunke with her viola cello.

The installation was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds (1963) and contained 204 hand-cut and stitched birds, of the three common breeds to the area for this particular time of year: Colóeus monédula (Jackdaw), árus ridibúndus (Black-headed Gull) and the Délichon úrbica (Common House Martin).
After 4pm that day any visitor to the 3rd floor of the tower was invited to cut down a bird and set it free where ever they pleased (i.e. bringing it home with them).

Snip, snip.

Birds taken off.

They came, they flew.

The installation finished on June 26th, 2011 at 5pm.
Below the tower at Limfjordscentret Doverodde, Denmark where the birds were being kept.

The Tower, Limfjordcentret Doverodde, Denmark.

A lonely bird left.

They came, they flew – on local tv (2011)

The opening of Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 and the official opening of my installation: They came, they flew – 204 hand-cut birds inspired by the Hitchcock movie The Birds from 1963.
Made onto the local TV station: tv midt/vest found her

Bestiary Volume II – the creatures are out (2011)

I'm excited to announce I recently managed to develop and print more than 30 new characters for the next Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary, A–Z, Volume II – which I plan to complete by the end of 2011.

The idea for Volume II has been there since I finished Volume I in 2006, but finding the right time and place to commence a new adventure in the name of letterpress has taken its time.

Turtle in place.

In March 2011 new creatures began to appear during my six day residency at Harrington&Squires in Tufnell Park, London (http://www.harringtonandsquires.co.uk/).

The two brilliant letterpress printers and designers – Vicky and Chrissie – left me to it, and let me submerge myself in their lovely collection of wooden letters, and fun began to happen between the inked roller (a shiny new one, I may add) and the nice old proofing press.

Here are a few pics from the action.

Black ink.

Octopus.

Ink roller.

The working canvas.

Proofing press at work.

A shark face appeared.

Welcome and News

Welcome to my blog/website which is replacing: www.ambeck.mdd.dk

My new website will be www.ambeckdesign.dk and will be ready asap.

In the meantime please take a look here and browse through my February posts.

Up coming events 2011:

Book fairs:

BABE III – Bristol Artists' Books Event at Arnolfini Bristol, UK

April 30th 11am-6pm & May 1st 11am-5pm, 2011

www.arnolfini.org.uk / www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk

Entrance FREE

Doverodde Book Arts Festival III

Limfjordscentret Doverodde Købmandsgård, Hurup Thy, Denmark

June 3-5th, 2011

www.bookarts-doverodde.dk

Paid entrance

Recent events 2011:

14th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair, Leeds

The Parkinson Building, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

March 11th 11am-6pm & 12th 10am-5pm, 2011

14th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair, Leeds.

Steam, Salt, Milk • Day Return • U+2318 (2010)

Cover of Steam, Salt, Milk (2010)

Steam, Salt, Milk – a nordic creation myth

(2010 edition) SOLD OUT

A remake of the unique book from 2000 of the same name now available in a limited edition of 10.

The book tells the story of how the world was created according to Nordic Mythology using inkjet-printed text and laser-cut illustrations and pop-ups.

Steam, Salt, Milk, 2010

Steam, Salt, Milk, 2010

Steam, Salt, Milk, 2010

Pages: 72 inkjet-printed and laser-cut by Tom Sowden, UWE Bristol.

Cover size: 20 x 20 cm – laser-engraved grey board

Comes in a grey slip-case and each copy will be signed & numbered.

Was launched at the London Art Book Fair 2010 where it won the Birgit Skiöld Award of Excellence.

At the Handmade & Bound Fair in London 2010 it was also awarded Best in Show 2nd prize.

London Art Book Fair 2010.

Handmade & Bound Fair in London 2010 – 2nd Prize.

Held by international private collectors and in the public collection of: 
The National Art Library at Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Manchester Metropolitan University Library All Saints
William Allan Neilson Library at Smith College Mass. USA
Winchester School of Art Library

Steam, Salt, Milk and Day Return are both results of a four-day (July 5-8th, 2010) residency at the University of West England, Bristol, UK being part of Tom Sowden's AHRC founded project: 'Paper Models: Investigating laser cutting technology to develop new artists' books and paper-based creative practice for arts, craft and design.'

To read more about the project go to: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/papermods11.htm here you can also find a detailed report by Tom Sowden on my residency at UWE: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/laserdocs11/case%20studies/ambeckcs.pdf

(Below the laser at work.)

Laser at work on Steam, Salt, Milk at UWE Bristol 2010.

Day Return

A video-recorded return train journey to London transformed by laser-engraving into image poetry. This meter long concertina book comes in a hand-made grey board box numbered and signed.

Double-side laser engraved onto 280gsm Somerset Velvet Black paper by Tom Sowden, UWE Bristol.

Size: 18 x 100 cm

Edition of 10 – in a signed & numbered box. SOLD OUT

Day Return 2010

Day Return 2010, in box.

Held by international private collectors and in the public collection of:
Tate Collection
Manchester Metropolitan University Library All Saints
William Allan Neilson Library at Smith College Mass. USA
CFPR Collection at the University of West England, UK
University for the Creative Arts at Epsom, UK 

(Below an example of the kind of train journey movie which the book is based on.)

                                     

U+2318 – 2010 in slipcase.

U+2318

Created especially for Doverodde Book Arts Festival II and the exhibition: 'Place of Interest' at Limfjordscenteret Doverodde Købmandsgård, Hurup Thy, Denmark.

The book investigates the symbol: U+2318 also called the Place of Interest Sign.

Materials:

Cover: Daler-Rowney HeavyWeight 220gms.

Inside: Canford-Royal Blue 150gms, Daler-Rowney Cartridge 130gms, Perganeata 90gms.

Slip-case: Canford Card Royal Blue 300gms.

Size: 14.7x14.7cm

Edition 50

Date: May 2010

Exhibited at Limfjordscenteret Doverodde Købmandsgård, Hurup Thy, Denmark

May 14th – June 20th 2010.

&

GrafikGalleriet – Grønnegades Kaserne Kulturcenter, Næstved, Denmark.

August 14th – 29th 2010.

In the public collection of the Tate Collection, London and the Doverodde Book Arts Center collection, Denmark.

U+2318, 2010 open.

Equal to Infinity (2007)

Close up of cover: Equal to Infinity, 2007

Equal to Infinity

‘What came first the strainer or the whisk?’

'Equal to Infinity' is 10 ordinary kitchen utensils which, combined, give life to a new robot.

Created especially for the Australian artists' book exhibition:'Books.07 – works of imagination – the search for the impossible', at Noosa Regional Gallery.

Materials: Munken Pure 11, 200gms & Canford, 150gms

Size: 21 x 14.9cm

Edition 10 – SOLD OUT

Date: July 2007

Exhibited at:

'Books 07 – works of imagination'

Noosa Regional Gallery

Pelican St. Tewantin, Australia

24th August - 30th September 2007

www.noosaregionalgallery.org

In private and public collections, such as: Manchester Metropolitan University All Saints Collection, Winchester School of Art Library, Special Collections at Leeds University and Doverodde Book Arts Center, Denmark.

Equal to Infinity, 2007 – end spread.

Bestiary & 10+ (2006)

Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary – A-Z, Volume I

Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary – A-Z, Volume I

This Bestiary is an alphabetic account of 26 letterpress creatures, who came to life in the Central Saint Martins basement in 1998-99. They leapt off the proofing press and into the street around Southampton Row never to be seeing again until now.

Robo-Girl Production

Cover size: 14.7 x 10.5 cm

54 pages – ink-jet printed, hand-stitched and glued with a soft cover. (2006)

Edition of 100, each copy signed & numbered.

ISBN 87-991309-0-4

A few of the original prints.

Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary – 2006

In private and many public collections: the collection of CFPR, University of West England, Bristol and Leeds College of Art & Design Library, University College of the Creative Arts at Epsom Library, University of Southampton Libraries Winchester School of Art, Tate Collection, London, Smith College Library, Mass. USA and University College of the Creative Arts at Cantabury Library.

Volume II is planned to be released asap. See post: Residency 2011.

A mix of letterpress from my own collection.

10+ – 2006 Open on end spread.

10+

'10+' are 10 ordinary objects which, combined, make a distinctive and unusual new robot.

Created especially for the Australian artists' book exhibition:'Books.06 works of imagination 10+beyond', celebrating 10 years of artists' books at Noosa Regional Gallery, September 22- October 29, 2006.

Featured on the cover of Noosa Magazine, Australia. (September 15th 2006)

Photograph by Geoff Potter.

Front cover of Noosa magazine, 2006

Exhibited at: '10+BEYOND' - Books.06 
Noosa Regional Gallery, Pelican St. Tewantin, Australia
22nd Sept. - 22nd Oct. 2006 
www.noosaregionalgallery.org 

In private and public collections such as: Queensland State Library, Australia, Manchester Metropolitan University All Saints Collection, the collection of CFPR, University of West England, Bristol and Winchester School of Art Library.

Hand-cut, ink-jet printed and pamphlet stitched (2006)
Cover size: 21x14.9cm
Edition 10 – SOLD OUT