Artists’ Book Symposium a resounding success: Three SCAD-Atlanta students honored in competition
By Gray Chapman
SCAD-Atlanta recently hosted an artist’s book symposium that included a juried student artists’ book competition. According to head librarian Deborah Prosser, nearly 100 books were submitted, and on April 4, the winners were selected. First and second place winners, Molly Dunbar and Andrea Gray, are both SCAD-Savannah students studying fashion design and fibers, respectively. Third place was awarded to SCAD-Atlanta student Candace Braden, a first-year studying interior design. The top three winners were awarded with cash prizes, and their books became part of the ACA Library of SCAD’s esteemed artist’s book collection — one of the largest in the nation. Noted book artist Berwyn Hung juried the competition.
Regarding the submitted work, Prosser said “the quality of the submissions is very high. Many of the books demonstrate great creativity and skill.” Prosser said that she was pleased with the way students seemed to be inspired by the permanent artist’s book collection. “It has been gratifying to see elements of the permanent artist’s book collection reflected in the students’ work. Some of the books submitted demonstrate that the students were inspired by books in the collection.”
The award-winning artists’ books were chosen for their use of assorted media and subject matter, according to Prosser. The third-place winning book, titled “Peace of Mind” and created by Candace Braden, was “praised for it’s beauty and the creative way she carried out the overall concept of peace of mind.”
Mi-Hyun Kim and Lisa Seegers, both Atlanta campus students, were also honored in the competition. Kim’s book, “One to Seven,” received an Honorable Mention. Kim is a fourth-year studying graphic design. According to Kim, the book’s subject matter deals with the flow of time. “Time flows differently for everyone. It is said that a dog’s life is seven times faster than a human’s. This calendar displays the relativity of time by comparing a year in the life of a human and his dog,” said Kim.
Seegers, a third-year graphic design student, won a Librarian’s Choice award for her book, “Tangramind: Diary of a Graphic Design Student.” Seegers said that her book expresses the role of a graphic designer. She said she purposely used materials familiar to the graphic designer in the book — including “inkjet prints, Adobe software, foamcore, matte board, plastic, spray mount (awful stuff) and the tools used to cut, bend, flatten, and form the materials.” Seegers said she based the structure of the book around the Tangram puzzle, “to represent the puzzles graphic designers solve.” She also said, “there is a requirement of interaction with this book to read the diary entries.” Prosser cited Seegers’ book as one that showed “great thought, ingenuity and care in execution.”
Prosser expressed satisfaction with the overall outcome of the symposium and competition. “The symposium and competition were a great success,” she said. According to Seegers, “the symposium was a blast, and very hands on. I met some wonderful teachers, librarians and artists, and was given an
opportunity to share my book creation experience with the symposium attendees.”
Plans are already underway for next year’s symposium and competition, according to Prosser. “The
libraries plan to sponsor the competition annually, so students should begin planning their submissions for next year.” Students can visit the ACA Library of SCAD to view the award-winning books as part of the permanent collection.
