Opening Reception – The Book As Art v. 14: Ghosted

The Book As Art: Ghosted is the fourteenth edition of an art show celebrating books: objects that, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive. In stories and folktales, ghosts are harbingers, haints, and often horror-inducing specters tied to places and sometimes people. In modern times, being “ghosted” refers to the sudden disappearance from social media or digital connections. Unlike the phantoms of old returning because they refuse to break connection to the physical world, people now retreat from contact, disappearing instantly, or fading away. The objects in this exhibition should interpret the concept of the book and invite the viewer to look beyond the printed page to where ideas, words, and symbols are transformed and transfigured. Artists are challenged to embrace the dualities and paradoxes of communication—to celebrate the macabre and the mysterious, the familiar and the fantastic, the clear and the cryptic. The Book As Art series seeks to showcase beautifully made volumes, sculptural and conceptual interpretations, mixed-media, and one-of-a-kind approaches to the book format.