“The Book Undone: Thirty Years of Granary Books” in the Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Columbia University

Today, Rebecca Rubenstein interviews the co-curators behind of a new exhibition at Columbia University Rare Books and Manuscript Library.  Don’t miss Rebecca’s other posts on library-as-incubator happenings in the NYC area! ~Erinn

by Rebecca Rubenstein

“The Book Undone: Thirty Years of Granary Books” exhibition celebrates thirty years of creativity and innovation in book publishing. Steve Clay and the artists and writers who work with him as his collaborators form a tight and supportive community. The Granary Books archive was acquired by the Columbia University Rare Books & Manuscript Library in 2013.

I recently spoke with the exhibition’s co-curators Karla Nielsen and Sarah Arkebauer about the acquisition and their experiences in putting together the exhibition. “The Book Undone: Thirty Years of Granary Books” runs through January 29, 2016 at the Kempner Gallery in the Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Columbia University.

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): How did the relationship between Granary Books and Columbia’s Rare Books & Manuscript Library (RMBL) begin?

Karla Nielsen (KN): Publishing history is one of the collecting strengths of the RMBL, which houses the archive of other New York based publishers archives, Random House and Harper’s. We also hold a diverse collection of artists books so the Granary Archive made perfect sense to acquire. I met Steve Clay in 2013, we decided to acquire the archive within a few months, and in early 2014 we began to process the archive. Since Clay represents archives as well as acting as a publisher the materials were already well organized when they came to us and needed minimal processing. The finding aid was completed in the summer of 2014 and then exhibition planning began.

LAIP: Please give me an overview of what the archive contains. Not all of items from the archive appear in the exhibition. How did you decide what to include?

KN & Sarah Arkebauer (SA): Our goal was to trace what goes into producing books from beginning to end- the initial correspondence through to production. SA: In putting together the exhibit we wanted to focus on both an overarching view of some of the vastly diverse pieces Granary’s published while at the same time getting a deeper look at the extensive process of putting together particular books. In the exhibition, final books are displayed alongside some of the materials that went into their production, such as printing plates and fabric samples.

LAIP: What have some of the highlights been for you in putting this exhibition together?

KN & SA: Its been a highlight to see how Granary has been able to expand what’s possible in artists books. Steve Clay is an talented facilitator- he keeps the artists moving forward with their ideas and he plays to their strengths.

KN: One of the amazing things about Granary is how many different things it does well. It’s mindful of the past in a forward-looking way. It’s a visionary press that’s also detail oriented. It’s exciting but never spastic. Earnest but also great fun. For years I thought of them as that poetry press that publishes extraordinary beautiful books, but then they are also the artist book publisher who publishes the most interesting writing.

SA: Another thing that stands out is how Granary is able to make limited edition artists books that range from the monumental to smaller, more delicate objects.

LAIP: How can I further explore the Granary Books archive via the web or in-person?

KN & SA: “The Book Undone: Thirty Years of Granary Books” runs through January 29, 2016 at the Kempner Gallery in the Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Columbia University. The exhibition is open to the public during the RBML open hours. Likewise, during our open hours researchers are welcome to consult the archive in our reading room.

Want More? 

• Don’t miss the performance on November 17th at 6:30 pm by Jen Bevin and Cecilia Vicuña in the Columbia Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
• Penn Sound has the audio from the Granary opening as well as audio for the threads talk series organized by Granary.
• Finding aid for the Granary Books collection.
• Information about using RBML collections.
• The Granary Books website.

All photographs by Rebecca Rubenstein.  Links below to specific pieces in the Columbia University Library catalog.

Alison Knowles, Time Samples (2006)

Lyn Hejinian and Emilie Clark, The Lake (2004)

Steven Clay and Rodney Phillips, A Secret Location on the Lower East Side: Adventures in Writing, 1960–1980: A Sourcebook of Information (1998)

Raphael Rubinstein, A Geniza (2015)

Cecilia Vicuña, Chanccani Quipu (2012)

Holton Rower, Non (1995)

 

Rebecca Rubenstein is an artist who earned her MFA from from Pratt Institute before enrolling as an MSLIS student at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University. She has worked at Teachers College, Columbia University’s EdLab and is currently a Librarian atQueens Library. Visit her website at http://ift.tt/1v3kbM1.

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