A release party for a new book by Dave Armstrong, CC’s director of information management division, will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17 in the Learning Commons Living Room at Tutt Library. Armstrong’s book, “The Burden of the Beholder – Dave Armstrong and the Art of Collage, features 18 high-quality prints of his collages, as well as poetry and short fiction by well-known writers.
CC English Professor Jane Hilberry edited the book and wrote the introduction. Armstrong and Hilberry invited established poets and writers to visit a website displaying 30 of Armstrong’s pieces of art. Each selected a collage and then wrote a poem or short prose piece inspired by that collage. In the book, each of these responses faces a print of the related collage. The writers are Aaron Anstett, Tom Absher, Harris Barron, Aimee Bender, Russell Edson, Jenn Habel, Jim Heynen, Jane Hilberry, H.L. Hix, Nancy Nye, David Mason, Roger Mitchell, Jim Moore, Kate Northrop, Jessy Randall, Leo Romero, A.E. Stallings, Phillip Sterling and Diane Thiel.
The book is a limited edition (only 100 copies were made, of which 75 will be for sale), handmade fine press book, designed and printed by Colin Frazer at The Press at Colorado College. The images are reproduced as gicleé prints, all text is letterpress printed and the book comes case-bound in red cloth. “The Burden of the Beholder” costs $125 and all profits benefit The Press at Colorado College.
As a fellow collage artist, I appreciated combining writing inspired by art with art created in reverie.
I was particularly attracted to Dave’s collages “Orpheus Loves Eurydice” and “The Sheraton Magritte.”
Eric Edelman