Work included in The Extended Ear, at Carnation Contemporary, Portland, OR

The catalog/artist’s book accompanying the exhibition Conditions for an Unfinished Work of Mourning: Wretched Yew, at Tracey Morgan Gallery, and the recently released publication, Wretched Yew (with Amy Bagwell), from Theurgical Studies Press were both included in a recent artist’s book fair at Carnation Contemporary in Portland, Oregon.

The Extended Ear: An Artist Book Fair celebrates and questions the act of publication. At a time when everyone is making a podcast, releasing a vlog, or starting a newsletter, what does it mean to publish? What does it mean to publicly memorialize our thoughts, and why are artists in particular drawn to this act, whether through print, image, video, or sound? What is it about the artmaking process that so often leads to an output through print and language? Part of language’s power is in its ability to rapidly replicate, but does publishing become more or less powerful with the access provided by social platforms and self-publishing options? Why is it culturally important to have a distinctive voice? And if everyone is talking, who is listening?