Stillness in time
Subtitle: September is the cruellest month
By: by Deborah Parkin
Contributors: Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library); Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Publisher: [Deborah Parkin]
Published: 2012
Place of publication: [Northumberland, England]
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; Photography of children; Memory in art; Emotions in art; Artists' books; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Other titles: September is the cruellest month.
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.

"Three little books made from wood, paper and love. Using basic tools and an imperfect human being I wanted to create something that reflected the strength of the human spirit and the craft of book making (however basic) and that it cannot and will not be destroyed. The photographs celebrate children, childhood, family and memory. Using the old photographic processes, I wanted to capture the stillness that can be found in what is often a chaotic and violent world. It is a celebration of children and the hope they give us"--Artist's statement from the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.

"My passion for photography started in earnest with the birth of my son. I had always enjoyed the photograph as an object, but with his arrival, came the need to record our lives. After the birth of my daughter, I found that I was photographing as a way of exploring my own childhood memories, as well as using it to document our lives. Photography was now becoming a means of expressing myself artistically. In my photography I have always been drawn to the theme of childhood, whether it has been recreating my own personal memories, making images of my children and recording their childhood or working with children using ancient photographic processes. My work is ultimately about emotion. It is about capturing a moment or a memory. I have always been interested in the idea of 'memory' - I think this came through my studies of reading diaries and journals for my MA in Holocaust Studies. Although my work is very personal, the intention is that it is open enough for others to bring their own story to it. I work with a variety of photographic mediums, from medium and large format cameras using film, to working with the Victorian Wet Plate Collodion Process. I love to work in a slow and considered way and one in which I collaborate with each child that sits before me"--The artist's website (viewed July 8, 2015).
Notes: Ethiopian binding, painted oak, sanded, stained, paper 120gsm black, c-type metallic prints (Hahnemuhle photographic paper for September book).

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.