Cover:
All images courtesy of the artist.
Artist Statement
Exploring the perception of landscape and place, my work manifests moments before change and destruction. The work draws attention to the notion of quiet unpredictability right before impending chaos. The landscapes, while subtle and layered, upend our sense of place and security. Elements of tension, the breakdown of information and the fragility of circumstance culminate in prints and artists' books.
Low Tide is an artist book incorporating the poem “Low Tide” by Edna St. Vincent Millay on both sides of the wire-edge bound book. On the exterior side, the poem is easily read, with each line or stanza flowing across the shoreline. On the interior side, the tide has receded and has washed the poem away. This tray is removed to reveal the last portion of the poem and trench where the book can be displayed.
In Solitude is an artist book that was conceptualized and printed during a residency at In Cahoots Residency in Petaluma California in two weeks of June in 2023. The work is a reflection of wanting to remain in a quiet and contemplative place and attempting to re-center thoughts and refocus a dedication to the self. The Petaluma landscape features beautiful rolling hills and expansive spaces. The first folio invites you into the space and leads into the expansive center spreads that features a landscape where the orientation of one’s self isn’t quite evident, however there is a calming presence in this space. The last folio leads you out of the book and back into reality, with a renewed sense of calm.
Melissa Wagner-Lawler is an artist and Teaching Faculty in the Printmaking & Book Arts department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She received her BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and MFA in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. For over a decade, Wagner-Lawler’s practice has been dedicated to artist books and exploring the intricacies of the format. Her artist books use letterpress and other printmaking techniques to investigate elements of tension, the breakdown of information and the fragility of circumstance. To date, she has produced 15 editioned book works, all of which are housed within collections around the country. Her work can be viewed at www.redthreadletterpress.com.
Wagner-Lawler’s work has been exhibited widely and is held in over 40 notable collections, including the Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Stanford University, Bainbridge Museum of Art, Yale University and the Smithsonian American Art & Portraiture Library.