Secrets of the Silk Road
Subtitle: traveler's guide
By: Renee Ugrin
Contributors: Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
Publisher: [Renee Ugrin]
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Damascus, Oregon]
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; Description and travel; Artists' books; Travel; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
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.

"The journey of the Silk Road is the story of exchanges. Not only the attainment of a luxurious and mysterious fabric, but perhaps the endeavor of a lifetime. This venture, which travels through what is now over 70 provinces, states and countries, each with their own customs and cultures. The traveler is provided with an opportunity to participate, communicate, develop an appreciation for, reflect upon and enjoy the discovery of the variety of customs, culture and the arts. This book was made with materials that were already in my studio. The adventure begins this way, using the local materials on hand, then venture out for the experiences. This book has many art history references, as over time many ideas are traded, refined and transformed, an aspect of this journey I find endlessly fascinating. My book follows the ancient trail, from Chang'an and the Great Wall to the bountiful Tigris River valley, it highlights some of the more recognisable landscapes of high deserts and lofty mountains. There are coded scrolls with directions and small books with clues about making silk and travel along the route. There is a compass as one might find in ancient China, and a hint about which camel might be the best choice for following a caravan. There are embroidered caterpillars and designs from the jackets of the clay army. All of these things are worth the while of a good discussion at the end of the trail, in Baghdad, at al-Mutanabbi Street, to share with fellow travelers, and in this sharing is where the great treasures are found. It is here where another fine cloth is woven, one of ideas, stories of adventure, of courage, of creativity and the arts"--Statement from the Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.

"Renee Ugrin's Damascus is a windy, rural hilltop where she grew up as a child and now lives with her husband and son. It's a place filled with memories of orchards and farms. It's a place she's been documenting through her art for much of her adult life. Ugrin received Oregon Arts Commission Awards in the All Oregon Art Exhibitions in 1982, 1987 and 1989. Her work is regularly featured at the Portland Art Museum's Rental Sales Gallery, and at Print Arts Northwest Gallery, in the Pearl District in Portland"--The Pamplin Media Group website (viewed July 27, 2015).
Notes: Printed in an edition of 12.

Medium: Arches cover 250 gsm, 100% cotton paper, acrylic base with ground garnet, watercolours, acrylic paints, printmaking blocks, cotton papers, various colours for the landscapes, variety of papers for the many small components, plastics, archival glue, embroidery and beading threads. Item is wrapped in a blank cotton canvas, with a multicolour silk tie.

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.