And yet again, BookOpolis was an awe-inspiring event of art and people! Over 200 visitors enjoyed this fabulous 2-day event showcasing book arts, posters and prints. A video of this year’s festivities, a mini-doc, will be available for viewing soon.

The Annual Purchase Award was presented to Elsi Vssdal-Ellis of EVE Press, Bellingham, WA, for her book entitled, Fever of Matter [2]: Do Not Blame Pandora. In her words, “This book is a reaction to VanDeMark’s Pandora’s Keepers: Nine Men and the Atomic Bomb. His transformation of Pandora into the atomic bomb really irked me. Rather than focus upon the “nine brilliant men” who were responsible for the creation of the first two atomic bombs it [my book] focuses upon defending Pandora. Between the frames of the exploding atom bomb it simply assigns the true responsibility for the bomb to them.”

If you’d like to see the rest of the Curator’s Selection, a collection of 36 pieces from the entire group of 101 entries, you can view it on-line at Picasa Web, or view it up-close, in-person, at BookWorks Gallery through November 27th, 2011.

In addition, a full-color catalog of BookOpolis 2011 featuring artist statements and nine extra images of books from the Small Book Edition, entitled, Parallax, is available for sale.

As part of the BookOpolis weekend festivities, Sept. 23, there will be 40+ posters by Amos Kennedy on display at BookWorks. In addition, visitors will be delighted by a special screening of Proceed and Be Bold, a film about Amos Kennedy by Laura Zinger / 20K films. The film will be projected outdoors, larger than life, against our building wall.  The screening will commence at dusk, around 7:30, following the drawing for this year’s Small Book Edition, we’ll begin the screening. No Fee for attending any of the BookOpolis weekend activities. Anyone interested in viewing the film in it’s entirety in the comfort of your own home, you can stream it for 1.99. You can also view the trailer on YouTube.

How far would you go for your one true love? Would you give up all of your earthly possessions, your job, and your family? What if your one true love was a printing press…

At 40 years of age, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. abandoned the traditional American Dream to follow his own. Unsatisfied with his comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for a pair of overalls. Armed with life, liberty, peanuts, and a meager yearly income of $7,000, Amos cranked out a new, mutinous declaration of independence.

Proceed and Be Bold! Join Amos for a titillating retelling of his story, while examining the pretensions and provisions of the art world. The work of this self-proclaimed “Humble Negro Printer” raises emotionally-charged questions and reveals remarkable depth beneath the bold print. By learning the rules and then choosing to break them, Amos redefines what life (and letterpress printing) can be: exhilarating and subversive.

His provocative sense of humor seeps out of every word he speaks and his radical philosophies on the American consciousness (or unconsciousness) will awaken any listless bystander. After experiencing Amos’ humble journey, you’ll never look at your middle class life the same way again.

YOU could WIN 9 amazing artist books AND support the BookWorks Co-op Artist-in-Residence Program. Raffle Tickets available in the BookWorks on-line store for a donation $10 each. Only 200 tickets for sale!

The drawing will be held at 7:30 PM BookOpolis evening, September 24. Tickets are also available at BookWorks all the way up to the last minute.

The BookWorks Co-op chose the theme, Parallax, for the Small Book Edition this year. A parallax is a difference or change in the apparent position or direction of an object as seen from two different points. Proceeds from the sale of the Small Book Edition support the BookWorks Co-op Artist in Residency Program. This year’s project was organized by Gwen Diehn.

The Co-op Artist-in-Residence program supports up to 2 residencies per year at Asheville BookWorks.

Since receiving a camera on her eighth birthday, Alyssa C. Salomon has been testing how photography collects and remakes her favorite parts of the world.  She employs nineteenth century photographic chemistries on handmade surfaces to exploit their inherent potential for romantic abstraction and physical control.  Salomon’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held by public and private collections including those of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Rocky Mount Arts Center, the Ritz Carlton Dubai, and Capital One Inc.  Salomon teaches at the Virginia Museum Studio School, Penland School of Crafts, the Ah Haa School, and elsewhere.   She lives and works along the Chickahominy River cypress swamp in Virginia, not far from where Pocahontas saved John Smith.  Salomon is an compulsive, albeit late rising, bird watcher, a frequent kayaker, an obsessive bread baker, and the host of the socially and politically satirical, weekly radio show, Can’t Stop the Music, on WRIR 97.3FM.

Click to see a list of workshops Alyssa is teaching.

Plan to send your BookOpolis entries the week of August 29 – September 2, 2011. We’re looking forward to celebrating 7 years of BookOpolis and want to showcase your print and book arts. All work will be exhibited BookOpolis weekend, September 23 / 24. Eileen Wallace will select from the entire group of entries to create a special collection of the best of the best to remain on display through November 28, 2011.

Send your best bookwork or printwork created in the past two years. Letterpress, Fine Press, Zines, Sculptural Books, Pop-ups, Prints and more…

Prospectus and Entry form can be found on the BookOpolis Page of the BookWorks website, just scroll to the bottom of the post.