Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2002. Paperback. Open Edition. This book was created for the 2002 exhibition BEAUT.E(CODE). It documents interviews conducted with computer software developers to explore the aesthetic values in, and their fond feelings for, computer programming. Artist Statement: "I am a visual artist. My husband is a software engineer. For years I have listened to his conversations with colleagues about hardware and software, what is good or pleasing and what is not and why, what they find new and exciting or classic and exciting. I am able to sense, but am unable to experience the excitement they feel. I wanted to find a point of entry into this world, and find a way to convey their excitement to other non-technical people. I gathered information by conducting group interviews with and sending questionnaires to computer professionals to explore aesthetic values in the art of computer programming and how they are similar to (or different from) aesthetic values in art. Or more plainly, “what excites these guys?” Three elements are combined to create the pieces in this show: quotes from the interviews which I thought best or most colorfully expressed these aesthetic values, representations of artifacts I remember fondly from my college days working in the machine room of the university’s computer center circa 1980, and my simplistic understanding of the basic inner workings of a computer." A collection of scantron forms with text keypunched onto the cards and "bound" with a custom printed rubber band reading "it is a living thing." Size: 3.25 x 7.25 x 5 inches. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 1999. Number 4 of 20 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Karen's artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format. She exhibits widely, and her work is included in collections ranging from Tate Britain and the Library of Congress to UCLA and Graceland (from artist's statement). In this amusing book, Karen utilizes the flag book structure originated by Hedi Kyle to juxtapose and contrast two staples of western art history, "Mona Lisa" and "Waterloo," a poker dogs painting by Cassius Coolidge. Partial images of each work alternate as the flag images are turned. When the book is completely open the full poker dogs picture is seen. The images are reproduced with pigment inkjet prints. The book is 8 x 4.5 inches closed and 8 x 19 inches when open. Housed in archival storage case with Velcro closures. In fine condition. ARTISTSB/070618. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2002. Softcover. Limited to 100 copies. A miniature flip book of black and white photos of corn fields. The book simulates the experience of driving past a field of corn. The corn photos are pigment inkjet prints. Measures 2 x 3.5 x .5 inches. Fine condition. PRI/062618. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2018. Number 21 of 30 copies. In this small but powerful work, Karen Hanmer offers a scathing look at what has been happening in the United States since January 2017. From Access Hollywood through the Mueller investigation to white nationalist support, #Great Again #Believe Me documents contemporary American personalities, pronouncements, slogans, scandals, policies and crimes, complemented by the metaphor of a deconstructing US Capitol. The text is printed in inkjet on binders' board with polypropylene and juxtaposed with black and white photos of the US Capitol as it was constructed, but shown in reverse order to seemingly deconstruct. The book is bound in the Jacob’s Ladder artists’ book structure, which is borrowed from a folk toy traditionally made of blocks of wood held together with ribbons. The structure is held from one end and allowed to dangle vertically. When the block being held is tilted, the remaining blocks flip over in succession, producing a cascading visual effect. Housed in clamshell of archival board. In fine condition. 21.5 x 2.5 x .125 inches extended; 3.5 x 2.5 x .75 inches closed. PRI/112818. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2009. Softcover. Limited to 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. In this flip book an image of the White House deconstructs to represent blunders and evil-doings since the 2001 inauguration. Created with pigment inkjet prints. The illustration was done in collaboration with Henry Maron. In fine condition. Measures 2.5 x .5 x .75 inches. PRI/070618. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: 2009. Hardcover. Number 28 of 100, each unique. A photographic, conceptual documentation of a journey across a rural Midwestern landscape. Winner of the award for best 3D entry in the 2010 Midwestern Biennial exhibition at the Rockford Art Museum (Rockford, IL). "Mirage beautifully represents the concepts of time and motion through a sequence of dreamlike images that whirl across the pages. The photographs, blurred as if taken from a speeding car, describe place and memory in a manner that is melancholic yet detached. The book is a diary of sorts, documenting the quickly passing and often unperceived moments that later prompt recollection. " Jeff Rathermel, Minnesota Center for Book Arts. A drum leaf binding with dark brown cloth spine and illustrated paper covered boards. Titled in brown on the spine. Pigment inkjet printed. Full edges brown. Housed in an archival paper case with the artist's contact information and edition number on the front panel. Unpaginated. [16 pages.] ARTB/060111. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2010. Hardcover. Number 21 of 25 copies in the Deluxe Edition. The edition consists of 125 copies of which 25 are deluxe, 50 are standard, and 50 are printed as chapbooks. Noted book artist Karen Hanmer examines the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and compares modern events to his stories. She examines Poe's "The Premature Burial" and compares nineteenth century fears of being buried alive to modern day people being buried in dept and unemployment. Perhaps most relevant to current events (even though Hanmer wrote this in 2010) is her examination of Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" in which the plague is an "uninvited guest" at a masquerade within the suppossedly impregnable castle walls. In reflection on Poe's story, Hanmer writes: "In the new century, Americans have had the opportunity to realize that we are not as invulnerable as it is comforting to believe. Very bad things do happen here. We find ourselves unprepared for the events and with no plan for recovery in the aftermath."“The physical structure, typography, and design for the paper wrapper ... are based on the first edition of Poe’s first published work, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Only twelve copies of this modest pamphlet are known to exist of the fifty printed in Boston in 1827” (Hanmer). This copy is presented in an early 19th century boarded binding based upon a technique taught by Jeff Peachey. Bound in marbled paper covered boards with beige paper spine and title label to the front board. The paper was marbled by Pamela Smith. Inkjet printed on Ruscombe Mill pale wove handmade paper. Housed in an archival folding case with a replica of the Tamerlane title page pasted to the front cover. The case has a Velcro closure. In fine condition. 36 pages. ARTB/011516. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2004. Hardcover. Number 19 of 30 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Features photographs, archival documents, and text pertaining to the Wright Brothers' experimentation to develop the first manned, powered flight. Bound using the flag book structure with illustrated paper covered boards. This book was created for Turning Pages: A Collection of Artists' Books shown in The Living Room, the family installation space at the Wichita Art Museum. Housed in an archival paper case with the edition number and artist's contact information stamped on the front panel. Measures 7 x 26 x 5 inches open and 7 x 5 x 3 ¾ inches closed. Unpaginated. [16 pages.] ARTB/032417. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: 2002. Hardcover. Number 8 of 20 copies. “Chicago binder, book and installation artist Karen Hanmer’s intimate, playful works fragment and layer text and image to intertwine memory, cultural history, and the history of science. Her work weds the ancient act of book binding with the high tech use of the computer to aid her process. The intimate scale and the gestures of exploration required to travel through each piece evoke the experience of looking through an album, a diary, or the belongings of a loved one. However, her works often take the forms of games or puzzles, and many include witty text” (Karen Hanmer). This work is a history of an immigrant farming family told through photographs. The family is depicted on both inside covers with one picture dating from the 1920s and the other from the 1960s. Connecting the pictures is a flowing field of corn, which is blurred on one side and detailed on the other. As you open the book the interlocking pages and imagery create a flowing movement that simulates the passage of time. The result is an engaging book that tells a story despite the lack of text. Housed in an archival paper case with the artist’s contact information and edition number on the front panel. In fine condition. Unpaginated. ARTB/060111. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2011. Hardcover. Chicago binder, book, and installation artist Karen Hanmer’s intimate, playful works fragment and layer text and image to intertwine memory, cultural history, and the history of science. Her work weds the ancient art of book binding with the high tech use of the computer to aid her process. The intimate scale and the gestures of exploration required to travel through each piece evoke the experience of looking through an album, a diary, or the belongings of a loved one. However, her works often take the forms of games or puzzles, and many include witty text. Number 2 of 3 copies. A sculptural book featuring text from Jane Austen’s archetypal romance, Pride and Prejudice, with heart shaped cut outs to reveal illustrations clipped from the covers of modern day romance novels. This book can be displayed in a star format using two included cloth clips or as an accordion. According to the book artist: The “background pattern references Regency era roller-printed textiles. This piece was created from a minimum quantity of recycled and already-purchased materials and with limited use of electricity for Sustainable Book and Paper Arts, a 2011 exhibition curated by Shawn Sheehy and Melissa Jay Craig.” Inkjet printed with found images. It is housed in an archival grey folding case with artist’s contact information stamped to front panel. Size: 6.75 x 4.25 x 3 inches, closed; 6.75 x 8.5 x 8.5 inches, open. Fine. Fine. More

Basel, Switzerland: Romano Hänni, 2005. Hard Cover. Number 34 of 40. Each book is unique. Second Edition. This book includes a selection of proof pages from various early handprinted books by Romano. The pages include handwritten notes and marks for corrections. Because each proof sheet is different, each illustration and also each book is unique. The poems, which are interspersed with the proof sheets, are written by Romano's father. The typographic pictures and cover are letterpress printed and the poems are inkjet printed. The text is in German with no English translation. (56 pages) ARTB/011713. Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2011. Hard Cover. Number 21 of 180 copies. This is the second part of a three part series. This part covers the years 1992 - 2010. The articles included were originally published in the Swiss Typographic Magazine. Includes three sections: an interview with Romano, information about six of his books (Typographic Notes I, Typographic Notes II, It is so far / It is about Time, The Solution, Merciless Execution: Friendly Pardon, and Words Make the Infinite Finite), and projects completed during a class he taught. The text is in German and English. Bound in white paper covered boards with white linen spine and illustration to front board. The interior is printed in color with many photographic illustrations. Includes a supplemental poster which is laid in and folds out. 98 pages. Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2010. Hardcover. Number 98 of 175 copies. A commentary on various aspects of life, some of which are illustrated with design elements. For example "with ritalin" shows a series of small, numbered pill shaped designs. It faces "without ritalin" which shows a variety of animals and other creatures. One unillustrated quote from the jacket reads "The daily misconduct: It is not the large catastrophes, it is he daily mistakes in the details that cause the global problems." Bound accordion style in boards with white illustrated dust jacket. Handcomposed and handprinted in black, red, blue, and gold. The text is printed in German; however, a pictorial booklet supplement with English translation is included. An thought provoking, well designed book. ARTB/060111. Fine. More