Wolfenbüttel, March 14, 2024
In addition to receiving an endowment of €6,000, the awardee will have the opportunity to work in the library for up to a month and produce an artists’ book inspired by the HAB's holdings.
Clifton Meador's project outline begins with a critical assessment of the status quo: we are currently experiencing the largest land war in Europe since the end of the Second World War and armed conflicts in many parts of the world. The focus of the award-winning project idea lies on the Thirty Years' War and its consequences for the political, religious and social landscape of Europe and the world to this day. Taking the holdings of the Herzog August Bibliothek as his starting point, Meador intends to examine the visual forms of expression of this war, in particular in old prints, with regard to their relevance for today's narratives and experiences. Meador writes: „Images from any period are a way of shaping a narrative. That said, if history is supposed to be written by the victors, I wonder if artists might sneak in other stories along with the controlling narrative. […] I wonder if these marginal images might tell other stories, reveal different aspects of a terrible conflict and its aftermath.”
23 project ideas were submitted for the 2024 Artists' Book Prize. There were 9 submissions from Germany and 16 international applications from artists from the USA, Brazil, Colombia, Pakistan, South Africa, the Netherlands, Russia and Australia.
In addition to Clifton Meador's project idea, the proposals by artists Odine Lang and Mari Girkelidze were also shortlisted. The topics raised in these illustrate in equal measure that artists' books are a powerful form of response to the social phenomena of their time. In her project outline, Odine Lang sheds light on the life of the miner Arnold Scheren, who was actively involved in the resistance against National Socialism. Mari Girkelidze's project focuses on the different phases of migration: Using various printing and embossing techniques, material combinations and sounds, the artist aims to make her home country of Georgia and experiences of foreignness tangible for visually impaired people.
The jury was particularly impressed by Clifton Meador's winning concept on the Thirty Years' War due to its historical approach, which focuses on the HAB's holdings. The questions he raises in his project are currently more relevant than ever and encourage a shift in perspective, which he intends to bring to light in an artists’ book.
Clifton Meador combines writing, photography, printmaking and design to create artists’ books that explore the role that narratives about culture, history and place play in the formation of identity. Meador studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design and Book Arts at Purchase College in New York. From 2014 to 2019, he served as Chair of the Art Department at Appalachian State University, where he is now a professor in the Graphic Design and Graphic Communications Management programs. His work is represented in numerous collections, including the library of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Yale Art of the Book Collection. The Herzog August Bibliothek already has five of his works in its collection: Archeiropoieta (2020), Chimeric Portraits (2022), Dead Life (2022), Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (2022) and East India Trade (2021).
The collection of Artists' Books held by the Herzog August Bibliothek was founded in the 1950’s with contemporary works of art by well-known French painters, known as “livres de peintre”. Artists have approached the medium of the Artists' Book in both traditional as well as experimental ways and these developments can be traced in the library‘s internationally renowned collection. In 2018, the Herzog August Bibliothek and the Curt Mast Jägermeister Foundation awarded the Artists' Book Prize for the first time to honour Sabine Solf's commitment to the interests of the library and its foundations. As an art historian, she accompanied the development of the collection and maintained close contact with the artists.
The jury for the award consisted of Dr. Sabine Solf, Wolfenbüttel (Chairwoman), Prof. Dr. Peter Burschel, Director of the Herzog August Biliothek, Manja Puschnerus, Managing Director of the Curt Mast Jägermeister Foundation, Dr. Stefan Soltek, Director of the Klingspor Museum Offenbach until 2021, Nikoline Kästner, paper conservator, and Dr. Johannes Mangei, Deputy Director of the Herzog August Bibliothek.
