Fans of the small and beautiful have plenty of places in this city to set out on an adventure. One of my abso-fricken-lutely favorite spots to casually browse for a new magazine, a book, or 'zine is Have Company.
On Saturday night the South Division store that is equal parts newsstand, maker space, artist residency program, and ArtPrize venue will be converted into a book release party for two local authors. The event is hosted by another local treasure, publishing house Issue Press, who is taking over the space for this special event centered around these two special books.
Ever Your Friend - a collection of images abstracted from the photo collection of the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, NY. Compiled during a month in residence at the Archive, Grand Rapids-based artist Anna Campbell has modified the images, isolating only bare arms, hands, and any objects they may hold. Campbell's selective editing prompts the viewer to fill in the gaps not only of the physical image itself but also in the narratives of everyday lesbian life they depict.
The Parking Ticket Project - selected drawings from illustrator Lucy Engelman’s Parking Ticket Project. Grand Rapids, winter wonderland that it is, implements an even / odd day street parking scheme during winter months for snow removal. Though effective, the system can be confusing to the uninitiated and in her earliest days in Grand Rapids, Engelman racked up quite a bit of parking ticket debt and traded original drawings for money to help pay them off. Each collector sent $10 and a word for Engelman to draw. Fast, loose, and full of whimsy, these drawings are some of the most charming in Engelman's already impressive body of work.
Both Campbell and Engelman will be on hand for the special evening. Campbell, a personal friend of mine, is currently on a one-year teaching assignment at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and this represents a perfectly timed opportunity for people who miss seeing this artist around the town to reconnect and learn more about this new work. For friends of Engelman, the humor has not been lost on me that her appearance coincides with a time frame when parking meters are NOT enforced in the city.
The Parking Ticket Project is being released as an un-numbered open edition; currently 200 have been produced. Campbell's Ever Your Friend is being offered in only a numbered edition of 275. If interested, do not delay. You may purchase this limited edition literary (and collectable) art book in advance on the Issue Press website.
Issue Press is an independent publisher of artist publications, multiples, and other printed matter based in Grand Rapids, MI.
Admission: Free
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