Freedom
By: Julia Seko ; linoleum blocks designed by Vivian Jean
Contributors: Jean, Vivian, artist, printmaker; Mattawa, Khaled, translator; Yūsuf, Saʻdī, poet; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library); Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Publisher: PS Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Boulder, Colorado]
Language: eng
Subjects: Violence; Pictorial works; Booksellers and bookselling; Bombings; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Protest movements; Books and reading in art; Intellectual life; Social conditions; Censorship; Terrorism in art; In art; War and civilization; Vehicle bombs; Visual literature; Specimens; Cultural property; Destruction and pillage; Sky; Hope in art; Artists' books
Description: This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

"I wanted to do a book for the children of Baghdad. In the poem 'Freedom, ' by Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef and translated by Khaled Mattawa, I was struck by the vivid imagery of sky and earth, of the joys and responsibilities of those fortunate enough to be free. I kept the design simple, in keeping with the concept of a children's book. Inspired by my research into a wonderful land and culture, I felt hope and a desire to share that hope"--The Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.
Notes: Medium: Letterpress printed with metal type and linoleum carvings.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi Street is located in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, holds bookstores and outdoor bookstalls, cafes, stationery shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. It has been the longstanding heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community for centuries. In response to the attack, a San Francisco poet and bookseller, Beau Beausoleil, rallied a community of international artists and writers to produce a collection of letterpress-printed broadsides (poster-like works on paper), artists' books (unique works of art in book form), and an anthology of writing, all focused on expressing solidarity with Iraqi booksellers, writers and readers. The coalition of contributing artists calls itself Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition.

Gift; Beau Beausoleil; 2019-2020.

Julia Seko has been involved in letterpress printing and book arts for over twenty years, originally training at the Women's Building in Los Angeles. She helped establish Naropa University's letterpress printshop and is adjunct faculty in the Writing and Poetics department. She has also taught through the University of Colorado Continuing Education, Naropa University's Summer Writing Program, and the Book Arts League, a community arts nonprofit organisation. She is proprietor of PS Press. Her letterpress work is in university and private collections, and has been exhibited in the United States and abroad.

"I have always loved making things from many different art materials. Currently, I am focusing on drawing and relief printmaking. Each linoleum block that I carve reveals to me a progression in my carving skill. I see that I can control the outcome through my own hands. In the end, it's the process that provides the best feeling - the making, the doing. I hope that this active creative process runs parallel to my self-discovery, and that the resulting images convey the joy I feel in making them"--An interview with Vivian Jean, a printmaker from the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery (viewed July 17, 2015).