Debra Disman

Artist

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Book Form

in a WHISPER…

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Whispers resound and reverberate in the new Verum Ultimum Gallery space in Portland.

Says Owner and Curator Jennifer Gillia Cutshall:
 “…when the murmur from art echoes beyond the walls & settles somewhere secret.  And “Whisper” with an exclamation may signal contradictions or dualities.  The term carries symbolism pertinent to the momentous occasion, but it also carries mystery to be filled in by artists’ interpretations.  Verum is open to all perceptions of this theme.  Delicate expressions are presented, as are bold, and the term WHISPER may be framed in many ways, not necessarily meant to be a literal elucidation. All mediums and modes of expression were welcomed..  Verum Ultimum Gallery tasks artists to define this inaugural exhibition to herald in Verum’s new space in Southeast Portland this summer of 2024!”

She shares  further “There are whispers everywhere, they arrive in our dreams, at a bus stop, museums, and beyond. Original works of art carry whispers. The whispers from the artists mingle with the viewers subconscious, and a connection is made!…The idea of the “whisper” may be inextricably attached to the importance of the unknown or the hidden. A degree of reverence may be ingrained in our collective psyche around all things art. For me, perhaps it began when I first entered museum spaces as a young girl (in NYC), I remember adults turning to children with their pointer fingers glued to pursed lips. They were signaling that hushed tones (and respect) were the order. And anticipation is in order, like the closed curtains and the dimming of lights in the theater, the collective whisper commands our attention toward these 38 provocative works. They whisper far beyond the bounds of literal elucidations.”
There are 38 artists and 38 unique, original works of art in this inaugural exhibition in the new space!

I am thrilled to show “Excavation of the Interior“ (shown closed and open below)
12 x 28 x 12.5″, wood, paper, cloth, hemp cord, linen thread

                   

SEE THE SHOW

SHOP THE SHOW

PURCHASE THE CATALOGUE

EXHIBITIONISTA: WHISPER at Verum Ultimum Gallery

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I am thrilled to participate in WHISPER! at Verum Ultimum Gallery in Portland.

I will be showing:

"Excavation of the Interior" (shown closed and open below) 12 x 28 x 12.5", wood, paper, cloth, hemp cord, linen thread
   

Says Owner and Curator Jennifer Gillia Cutshall:
 "...when the murmur from art echoes beyond the walls & settles somewhere secret.  And "Whisper" with an exclamation may signal contradictions or dualities.  The term carries symbolism pertinent to the momentous occasion, but it also carries mystery to be filled in by artists' interpretations.  Verum is open to all perceptions of this theme.  Delicate expressions are presented, as are bold, and the term WHISPER may be framed in many ways, not necessarily meant to be a literal elucidation. All mediums and modes of expression were welcomed..  Verum Ultimum Gallery tasks artists to define this inaugural exhibition to herald in Verum's new space in Southeast Portland this summer of 2024!"

Imagination, Experimentation and Play!

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Free your imagination, experiment, and….PLAY!

Join us for this art and bookmaking online workshop, source your own materials, and create your own exploratory masterpiece! Details in the flier below. 

Presented by The California Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, part of the national  Guild of Book Workers, this workshop is a point of departure for anyone at any skill level who has a desire to explore the world of book arts in a safe, supportive and fun online environment.

Please contact me through the site contact form with any questions.
Hope to see you there!!!!

 

Folded Fan Sculptural Artists’ Book: A Vehicle for Imagination, Experimentation, and Play

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The California Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers presents:

A workshop led by Debra Disman
Saturday, June 5, 2021
1:00 – 4:00 pm, Pacific Time
Presented live via Zoom

The “Folded Fan Book,” Debra Disman’s personal name for this fun and versatile book structure, is comprised of
an accordion spine, two covers, and full size pages which “fan out” when the book is opened.
This structure can be treated as a traditional codex or built into a sculptural form limited only by the
ingenuity, creativity, and innovation of the maker.

Students will gather their own materials based on the supplies list provided and determine the size and content of their books,
inspired by examples of different ways this structure can be developed, reimagined, and used.

We will spend the first part of the workshop creating the basic structure, then take off into unexplored territory
where students can utilize their chosen materials to transform their books into personal explorations of their own histories
or potential futures. Will YOUR BOOK become a container of memory, visualization of an intention, a container of dreams, an excavated artifact?
Whatever participants choose to create, this book can become a vehicle for imagination, experimentation, and play.

Materials: Participants will supply and source tools and materials. The use of existing materials in your living/work space is encouraged.
A list of supplies will be sent one month before the workshop. The Zoom link will be sent the week of the workshop.

Skill Level: Open to all levels of experience

Registration: $50.00 USD for GBW members,
$60.00 USD for non-members.
Please register by May 15, 2021. The workshop will not be recorded.
There is a cancellation fee of 10% of the registration fee up to 30 days before the workshop. No refunds are given for
cancellations made within 30 days prior to the workshop. Registrations may not be shared and are non-transferable.

Please direct questions to
california@guildofbookworkers.org.

Debra Disman is a Los Angeles-based artist working
primarily in the form of the book, both as a solo
practitioner and in the public sphere of community
engagement. She creates work and projects which
push the boundaries of the book into new forms and
materials. Her work is shown in museums, galleries,
universities, and libraries across the U.S.
debradisman.com
Instagram

“The Book as Art 2018: PULP”

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The Book as Art 2018 is an exhibition organized by the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Georgia Center for the Book and the DeKalb Library Foundation.

This sixth year of “The Book as Art” is called:
Book as Art v6: Pulp
Juried by Lisa Beth Robinson, Stephanie Smith and Cynthia Nourse Thompson,
the show runs August 10–September 28  and is open during library hours.
It is held in The Periodicals Gallery of the Decatur Library,
215 Sycamore St., Decatur, Ga.

“A book begins as a small mass of material, formed and pressed into life by ideas, words, and machines. Pulp becomes paper, becomes thought, becomes word, becomes book, becomes sculpture.

Pulp is the impetus and endgame of these physical book objects. From the tactile complexity of handmade paper, to the sensational tabloid tales of pulp fiction, these objects, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive.

These objects interpret the concept of the book and invite the viewer to look beyond the printed page to where word has become form.

Book As Art: Pulp is the sixth edition of this critically acclaimed artist book exhibition established by the Decatur Arts Alliance in 2013. Entries hail from across the United States and around the world, and from emerging artists as well as recognized masters in the genre. The Book As Art is pleased to present these examples from the finest in the field.” — The Book As Art 2018

I am honored to have two pieces in the show:

Profusion
Artists’ Book/Sculpture
2018, 8.75″ x 24.5″ x 7.75″, book board, paper, hemp cord, canvas


Inside


Detail


Outside

and

Burning Bush
Artists’ Book/Sculpture
2018, 7.5″ x 11″ x 5.5″, book board, paper, hemp cord, canvas


Inside


Detail


Outside

I wish I could see the show.
Los Angeles is just too far away from Georgia!

If You can, please do!
And don’t miss the
Closing Reception | white glove night
Friday, Sept. 27 | 6-8 pm
Join us for one last look at these works of book art. And we’re putting away the “do not touch” signs. Volunteers will provide participants with white gloves to allow firsthand exploration of the books in the exhibition. ––The Book as Art 2018

Sounds like black tie optional, white gloves required.

I hope many view and enjoy before that time.

Kudos to the jurors and organizers on what looks to be a sublime effort.

GrAtItUdEs

 

Story Time

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Story Time: BedTime Story I

I am repeating a bit in this post, lingering in my Studio Residency and show of work at Camera Obscura Art Lab at 1450 Ocean in Santa Monica.

I showed a work titled “BedTime Story I“, featuring, or shall I say employing tiny masks; faces of clay, made by my Mother, the ceramicist  Judy Disman.

My Mom had made these tiny faces of clay expressly for me to use in and on my artists’ books, even making tiny holes in them so they could be sewed  into and onto the book structures and become integral to them.

The faces were a natural for a piece about “bed”,  and made the book into a more literal narrative then I had originally intended. I work fairly abstractly, though still in a loose book format, and the addition of representational elements changed the feeling of the piece. It could then be “read” more literally.

The faces even became interactive, with two of them contemplating each other.

Others became sentinels, gazing benevolently out from their “beds”.

Far from creating an image of sleep, the faces express the experience of being wide awake, perhaps listening to, creating, or becoming a story. A bed time story.

The faces become the actors in the story, played out through the pages of the book. Each viewer will read the story in their own way, and reach their own conclusions about it.

We may wonder what the beings or characters expressed or indicated by the faces are thinking, and if they are having sleepless nights. Perhaps they are worried under their smiling visages. Perhaps they are presenting to us a mask, and there are dreams and roiling emotions, even nightmares, underneath.

Perhaps formal, textural,  decorative, haptic or totemic qualities of the work will prevail for some. In any event, BedTime Story I was a pleasure to make.

Again, Mom, thank you for the collaboration, and for creating these tiny pieces for me.
It was great to work with you. Sweet dreams.