The Elizabeth Soutar Bookbinding Competition - 2012 Awards
While Literary Awards are typically viewed as being
focused upon the written word and narratives, the changing landscape of
literature will, I believe, alter the way in which we view the physical object
of the book and its production (more on this here).
Such rules make this award particularly unique in
its treatment of the book. The award
does not reward the text itself, or the mass-produced bound book, instead, it recognises
the intricate and delicate craft involved with decorating and preserving a
text. This year’s judges, Darryl Mead (Deputy
National Librarian, National Library of Scotland), Jim Hutcheson (Creative
Director Birlinn Ltd. Publishing) and Mark Burns (City of Glasgow College),
looked for ‘individual expression and originality’ when taking into
consideration the submissions.
The awards ceremony, held at the National Library of Scotland on the 5th February was a modest and remarkably short affair (the ceremony itself lasted no longer than twenty minutes). While reserved, the audience-a mixture of shortlistees, artists, academics and amateur bookbinders-were clearly a galvanized bunch, who congratulated all winners heartily (despite their moment of fame being closer to 15 seconds than 15 minutes). What’s more, the shortlist and winners list exposes the geographical broadness of this award. Three of the four winners were from Spain, the fourth coming from the Netherlands, and as you will see from below, this is not an unusual coincidence: most of the shortlisted bookbinders come from mainland Europe, particularly Spain. Perhaps the UK is still not quite ready to appreciate the artistic elements of the book, but at least the National Library of Scotland are giving some exposure to this celebration of beautifully preserved books.
The awards ceremony, held at the National Library of Scotland on the 5th February was a modest and remarkably short affair (the ceremony itself lasted no longer than twenty minutes). While reserved, the audience-a mixture of shortlistees, artists, academics and amateur bookbinders-were clearly a galvanized bunch, who congratulated all winners heartily (despite their moment of fame being closer to 15 seconds than 15 minutes). What’s more, the shortlist and winners list exposes the geographical broadness of this award. Three of the four winners were from Spain, the fourth coming from the Netherlands, and as you will see from below, this is not an unusual coincidence: most of the shortlisted bookbinders come from mainland Europe, particularly Spain. Perhaps the UK is still not quite ready to appreciate the artistic elements of the book, but at least the National Library of Scotland are giving some exposure to this celebration of beautifully preserved books.
The rules of the competition state that entries
should be ‘a single example’ and be ‘bound exclusively’ for the competition and
Entry Forms are now available for the 2013 Elizabeth Soutar Bookbinding
Awards. Perhaps more of us should give
it a go, that way, the event will become a greater celebration of original
artistic creativity and books!
All of the winning and shortlisted books are
exhibited in the National Library of Scotland’s exhibition space and,
unfortunately, photography is not allowed here so I cannot show you images of all winning texts (any images used I have sourced from the artists themselves). However, the books
are to be exhibited for the next couple of weeks and I urge all of you to go
and have a look at them. All are
stunning, and some are quite remarkable!
Winners and awards:
Pilar Calahorra (Spain)
£1,200
£1,200
Best Craft Binding (student entry)
Annie Van Bruggen Mevissen (Netherlands)
£600
Annie Van Bruggen Mevissen (Netherlands)
£600
Commendations from the judges:
Andrew Brown (UK)
María Inéz Roldán Morales (Spain)
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, a Canongate publication of 2005 Re bound - Cotton binka fabric with embroidery silk and needle, digital photography |
My own personal highlights from shortlistees:
Toon Van Camp (Belgium)
A large, glossy and ornate piece by this well established and multi-award winning binder.
Patricia Burge (UK)
A striking binding of Yellow Wolf: His Own Story by Lucullus Virgil McWhorter.
A striking binding of Yellow Wolf: His Own Story by Lucullus Virgil McWhorter.
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