Title: Remembrance
Description: "Remembrance was a challenging book to complete. I started by researching my topic, which in this case was a tragic, heartbreaking, event. To choose to explode a bomb in a place where people gather to find books and to broaden their knowledge, or to just enjoy the company of others doing the same, is simply evil. Why a person would do this is a question I'm sure the family and friends of the people who died there, or were injured, or were forced out of business, continue to ponder because it seems so incomprehensible. When I became part of a small band of book artists who were inspired by Beau Beausoleil to make works which spoke to the 2007 bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, Iraq, I was honored to contribute to this quiet protest. My piece called 'Remembrance' has four small accordion books which make up the work. The first book, 'To Seek to Know''includes words both in English and Arabic which describe Al-Mutanabbi Street before the bombing. It is followed by 'A Sudden Attack, ' 'Pain and Grief, ' and 'Recovery, ' depicting the evolution of the environment during and after the tragedy. I struggled with how to make this work bi-lingual. Arabic is completely foreign to me and when trying to translate sentences there were so many choices it was difficult to know which was best. I found an old dictionary and as I read through, the individual words that I chose created the narrative, which is simply single words displayed in both Arabic and English"--Artist's statement from the Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.

"I am a book artist who creates one of a kind artist books and sometimes small editions. I thrive on challenging the idea of what an artist book is by using unconventional elements in my books. My work explores themes of history, women, geography, time, mathematics, memory and science. I am inspired by vintage items both strange and simple, including maps, diaries, tintypes, photographs, handwritten letters, odd medical devices, keepsakes and relics, found in various flea markets around the world. Each found object I use has its own story which informs the narratives I create. My artist books are often housed in vintage boxes or containers that I have found at flea markets and tag sales. I love the idea of wondering 'what's inside' and the process of lifting the lid, or opening the box to explore the unknown"--Statement from artist's website (viewed June 30, 2015).
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, Letterpress printing, Maps in art, Artists' books, Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Places: Iraq, Baghdad, Massachusetts, Salem
People: Julie Shaw Lutts
Time periods: 21st century