Richard Minsky

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Photo of Richard Minsky

publications
bibliography
virtual art
collections
group shows
solo exhibitions
performances
curator
lectures
history
education
 
The Breathtaking Book Art of Richard Minsky (Booktryst)

Richard Minsky: Bound Wonders
(The Book Art Blog)
 
 
Public Collections & Commissions
 
Yale University, New Haven, CT: The Richard Minsky Archive
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
The Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, Miami, FL
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Library and Museum of the Performing Arts, New York
The Morgan Library, New York
The New York Public Library Rare Book Room
Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC
The Getty Center, Santa Monica, CA
McMillan Library, Nairobi, Kenya.
The White House
Gracie Mansion, New York
Center for Book Arts, New York
Los Angeles Museum Of Craft and Folk Art
Donglomur Foundation, Villanova, PA
+ many other museum and university library collections
 
Solo Exhibitions
 
2014 Center for Book Arts, New York
2010 Yale University, New Haven, CT
2005 Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, NY
2003 Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2002 Oberlin College Library, Ohio
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York
1992 HarperCollins Gallery, New York (25 year retrospective)  
1990 Twining Gallery, New York
1988 Zabriskie Gallery, New York
1981 Allan Stone Gallery, New York
1978 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art  
1976 92nd Street YM-YWHA, New York
1974 Zabriskie Gallery, New York
1972 Guild of Book Workers, AIGA Gallery,  New York
 
Group Shows
 
2017   Protest ≠ Profest: Global Burdens. Center for Book Arts, NY
2013   Art Meets Art. Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
2012   Beaten & Bound. Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, Indiana
2011   Warren Street. Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
2010   Self-Portrait. Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
    Somewhere Far From Habit. Longwood Center for Visual Arts, Farmville, VA
2009 Somewhere Far From Habit. Pierre Menard Gallery, Cambridge, MA
2004 What's in a Book? Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY.
The Book at the Back of the Mind Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
2003 Beyond Reading: Contemporary Book Art The Ellipse Art Center, Arlington, VA
Love and/or Terror University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson
Visual Poetics: Art and the Word
Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL
2001   Not for Publication: In the Spirit of the Book Hillwood Museum, Long Island University, NY
1999 Legible Forms Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach
1998 Legible Forms Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL and 
Sheldon Memorial Art Galllery, Lincoln, NE
1997 Inside Editions: A Literature of Punishment The Grolier Club, NYC
Legible Forms Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA
1996 Love Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY
The Alternative Page The Gallery at Hastings on Hudson, NY
1995 Redefining The Book Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA 
This Day in History Center for Book Arts, New York
1994 Waking The Book Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
1993 Not By The Book Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY
Artists' Books & Art About Books Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NY
Paper-The Essential Material HarperCollins Gallery,NY
1992 Completing the Circle: Artists' Books On the Environment Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN and four other venues
1991 Books as Art Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL 
Objects of My Affection Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY 
The Regilded Age The Newark Museum, NJ 
Creatures Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY 
Dieu Donne Papermill: 15 Years Center for Book Arts, NY
New Surrealism New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ
1990 Prints of the Eighties Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NYC and Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY
1989 2e Forum International. de la Reliure d'Art Basel CH     
In the Craft Tradition Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY
Handmade Paparworks Aaron Gallery, Washington, DC
The Eloquent Object Virginia Museum of Fine Arts "
The Eloquent Object The Orlando Museum of Art, FL 
Obsessions Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
1988 The Arts of the Book Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA " 
The Eloquent Object The Oakland Museum, CA, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and
Chicago Public Library Cultural Center
Book Making: Practical and Provocative Painted Bride, Phila. PA
Invitational Exhibition Benton Gallery, Southampton, NY "
Contemporary Book Arts U. North Dakota, Grand Forks 
Off the Shelf: A New Look at Book Art Fort Wayne Museum of Art
1987 Off the Shelf ...  Sweet Briar College, VA 
The Eloquent Object Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK
The Masters II Long Island University, Southampton, NY 
A Survey of Book Arts The Queens Museum, Flushing, NY
1986 Bookworks by Photographers Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
1985 Books as Sculpture Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
1984 The First Decade: Center for Book Arts New York Public Library
Ordinary And Extraordinary Uses: Objects By Artists Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY
1981 The Birthday Party Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Portland
1980 The Naked Book BACA Downtown Cultural Center, Brooklyn
1979 The Open and Closed Book Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1978 The Book as Art Dayton Arts Institute, Dayton, Ohio
1977 Crafts in The White House Los Angeles Museum of Craft and Folk Art 
The Object as Poet Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC and Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NY
1976 The Center for Book Arts New City Free Library, New City, NY and Larchmont Public Library, Larchmont, NY
1975 The Book as Art Fendrick Gallery, Washington, DC 
The Center for Book Arts Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT 
Guild of Bookworkers New York Botanical Gardens Museum and Yale University, New Haven, CT
1968 Students of Daniel Gibson Knowlton Rogers Free Library, Bristol, RI
 
Exhibitions Curated
 
2015   Embraced: The International Community Center for Book Arts, NYC
2015   The Art of American Book Covers 1875 – 1930: One Hundred Great Covers from the Brown University Library Brown University, Providence, RI
2003 Open for Action: Political Book Art Center for Book Arts, NYC
1996 Illustrated Books: A Survey of Genres Colophon Page Gallery
1994 Out of Bounds Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT
1990 Book Arts in the USA Center for Book Arts, NYC, five venues in Africa, four in South America
1987 The Effects of Time Center for Book Arts, NYC
Book Works, London Center for Book Arts, NYC
Jean de Gonet Center for Book Arts, NYC
The Bookworks of Tom Phillips Center for Book Arts, NYC
1985 Book Artchitecture T J Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art
  
Bibliography
"Books as Modern & Contemporary Art" Art & Design 20, March 28, 2013
"The Bill of Rights as Art" Americana Week, March 28, 2013
"Minsky Exhibition, 75 Dealers at Boston Book, Paper & Photo Expo" Fine Books & Collections Blog, March 12, 2013
[five years of missing bibliography to be inserted here]
"It's About Art" by Scott Brown, Fine Books & Collections March/April 2007
No Longer Innocent: Book Art in America 1960-1980 by Betty Bright. Granary Books, 2005.
"Making Books Speak: Book Art and Politics" by Richard Minsky, International Gallerie, Issue 18, 2006.
"Richard Minsky" by Scott Brown, Fine Books & Collections March/April 2005
"Profile: Richard Minsky" Bound and Lettered vol 4,#2,April 2005
"Bookbinding as Art" Stars Magazine [The Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY] Sunday Feb. 20, 2005
"'The Bill of Rights' Exhibition Comes to Bird Library" Syracuse Record, Feb. 14, 2005
"Arts Library acquires the archive of pioneering book artist Richard Minsky" Yale Bulletin & Calendar, Dec. 17, 2004
"'Bill of Rights' bookworks bound to be provocative" by Thomas O'Sullivan. St. Paul Pioneer Press, April 5, 2003

"Artist Depicts the Bill of Rights in a World Out of Joint" by Ralph Blumenthal. The New York Times, May 20, 2002
"An Interview With Mr. RIchard Minsky: Professional and Academic Perspectives of Book Art" ArtSchools.com, August 6, 2001.
"Nouvelles du front: les derniers travaux de Richard Minsky" par Joëlle Naîm, Art & Métiers du Livre, Jan-Feb 1998
"Richard Minsky" by Caroline Seebohm. At Home With Books, Clarkson Potter, 1995.
"A Time for Judging a Book by Its Cover" by Betty Freudenheim. The New York Times, July  3,  1994  
"What Is a Book? Perusing Some Unusual Ideas" by Bess Liebenson, The New York Times, June 5,1994  
"Don't write off fascinating show at Arts Workshop"  by Judy Birke. New Haven Register, June  5,  1994  
"Finishing Books" by Janice Friedman. Bostonia, Winter 1992-93
"Madonna's 'Sex' Binding" A Current Affair, FOX-TV, Oct. 21, 1992
"Naked Came the Bookbinder" by Lisa Interollo.  Avenue Magazine, Summer 1992
"August Blues" by Ellen Keiser. Dan's Papers, August 21, 1992
"Richard Minsky/HarperCollins Publishers Gallery" photo in American Craft, June/July 1992
"Richard Minsky" by Jeanne Moos.  CNN-TV, May 8, 1992  
"Art Pick: Judging by Their Covers" by Catherine Drillis. Manhattan Spirit, April 21, 1992
"Traditions in a Bind"by Jerry Tallmer. New York Post, April 24, 1992
"From the Studio" by Rose C.S. Slivka.  The East Hampton Star, April 9, 1992 
"New Medium for an Urgent Message" by Mary Ann Grossman. Saint Paul Pioneer Press,  March 1, 1992  
"Books Cast as Artworks in Exhibit"  by Gary Schwan. The Palm Beach Post, August 25, 1991
"Minsky in Bed" East Hampton Star, August 2, 1990  
"Wordless Art of Bookmaking" by Jerry Tallmer. New York Post, April 27, 1990
"Bookbinder on a Cabin Cruiser" by Eric Wald. Dan's Papers, Aug. 18, 1989
"Richard Minsky" Art & Metiers du Livre, Oct/Nov, 1988  
"Richard Minsky" Arts Magazine, May, 1988  
"Books as Art" by Darrel Koehler. Grand Forks Herald. March 25, 1988
"Faculty Show: Ranqe of Ideas" by Fhyllis Braff. NY Times, Sept. 6, 1987
"On Art" by Amei Wallach.  Newsday, August 21, 1987  
"Alternate  Autos"  Craft International,    April-June 1987  
"Bound to Please" Smart Living, Feb 1985  
"The Book Transformed" ID Magazine/International Design, Jan/Feb l985
"Reading Matter With a Difference" New York Times, Sept. 7, 1984
"Art in Bondage" Art & Antiques, June 1984  
"Ars Gratia Artist" Money, June, 1984
"Art for Debt's Sake" Newsday, March 29, 1984  
"New Company Issues a Debenture That's Secured by a Picture Frame" The Wall Street Journal, March  26,  1984 
"Richard Minsky" photo in The Athens Observer (GA), Feb 11, 1982
"Richard Minsky" Review in Craft International, Summer 1981  
"From Neo-Conceptual to Bodies" Review in Artspeak III,19, May 21, 1981
"Minsky in London" Review in Artforum, January, 1981  
"American Book Artist at Large" Crafts (London) Feb. 1979  
"Book of the Century"  Craft Horizons,  Ocotober  1977  
"The Decade: Change and Continuity" Craft Horizons, June, 1976  
"Richard Minsky" Review in  Arts magazine,  October, 1974  
"Richard Minsky" People Who Make Things by Carolyn Meyer. Athenaeum, 1975
"You Can Always Tell a Bookbinder by His Cover" Acquire, December, 1973
"Vanishing Breed" by Rita A. Black. Book Production Industry, April, 1973
"Richard Minsky" by Rolland Smith. WCBS-TV 6 O'clock News, May 17, 1972
"Another Chapter In Ancient Art of Binding" by Philip H. Dougherty. The New York Times, May 28, 1972  
"Art Scene Comes to Queens" by Milton Adams. New York Post, May 16, 1972

 
Minsky and Virtual Art

I reside in the virtual world of Second Life® as avatar ArtWorld Market and publish The ArtWorld Market Report. Articles about my activities as curator and critic of virtual art have appeared in artnetFinancial Times Deutschland, Die Zeit, among many others. I was interviewed by Kurt Andersen on Public Radio International's Studio 360, and performed a 1½ hour tour of art in the Second Life World at Location One in New York City that was simulcast in Second Life.

In August, 2007 I presented a paper in the Business Track of the Second Life Community Conference in Chicago on "The Art World Market of Second Life." This was the first study of its kind, examining the differences and similarities between real life and Second Life art, including aesthetic, technical, legal and economic factors. Over 25,000 copies have been downloaded.

 
Publications

Artist Books and Editions (click link to view images and descriptions)
American Publishers' Bindings on the Books of Amelia E. Barr 1882-1919, 2016
Trade Bindings with Native American Themes 1875-1933, 2014
The Book Cover Art of Thomas Watson Ball
, 2012
The Book Art of Richard Minsky: My Life in Book Art, George Braziller Publisher, 2011
The Art of American Book Covers 1875-1930, George Braziller Publisher, 2010
American Decorated Publishers? Bindings 1872―1929, 2006, volume 2, 2009, volume 3, 2010
Essential Liberty, 2005
The Bill of Rights, 2002
Minsky in Bed, 1996
Animal Magnetism, 1993
Minsky in London, 1980

 

Art and Cognition: Guest panelist for international online symposium, published on the web Nov. 2002—current by D?partement d'?tudes cognitives de l??cole normale sup?rieure, Fondation Fyssen, and Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques. Below are links to several texts by Richard Minsky:

   "Abstract or figurative, it can be a fake original"
   "The Theory of Museum Finish"
   "Reply to Jos? Luis Guijarro?s comments"
   "More on The Theory of Museum Finish"
   "Evaluation, Endorphins and Economics"
   "The parameters of authenticity"
   "The Eyes Have It"
   "Digitization of Original Sources"
   "Scientific Methodology"
   "Point and Line to Plane"


?Les aspects ?conomique de l?architecture du web? and ? ?ou des regrets ? l?infinie ?? by Richard Minsky, in
      text-e: Le texte ? L?heure de l?Internet, Biblioth?que Centre Pompidou, 2003

text-e: participant in virtual symposium, published on the web October 2001-March 2002 by Euro-Edu, UNESCO, Institut Nicod and Biblioth?que Centre Pompidou. Below are links to several texts by Richard Minsky:

   "Economics, Technology, and the Time Line"
   "Managing Risk for Our Cultural Legacy"
   "The Book as Totem, Icon, Memory Object and Spiritual Channel"
  
"The Economics of Book, Text and Bit Ownership"
   "kids, robots, and"
   "cross-pollination"
   "...or is it infinite regrets?"
   "Digital Domesday"

 

"Fear and Greed in the 24-hour Economy" by Richard Minsky. Brown Economic Review, 1999
"Innovation from Tradition in the Book Arts" by Richard Minsky. American Craft, October/November, 1993  
 
Lectures/Seminars
 
2020   The Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, ME  Modernism in American Book Cover Art, 1872-1930
2017   The Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology, Artist in Residence, Material Meets Metaphor
2017   The Caxton Club, The Art of American Book Covers 1875-1930
2016   Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J Watson Library, American Publishers' Bindings Symposium
2016   Minneapolis Institute of Arts,  The Art of American Book Covers: 1875-1930
2015   American Printing History Association Fortieth Annual Conference, RIT. Restoring and Adjusting Two Iron Handpresses
2015 Smith College, Northampton, MA.  Keynote lecture: Saved by the Cover: Rediscovering Amelia E. Barr
2015 Brown University, Providence, RI.  The Art of American Book Covers: 1875-1930
2013 University of North Carolina at Greensboro, American Decorated Publishers' Bindings 1872-1929
Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota FL, Material Meets Metaphor, workshop for Book Art students
2012 The Aldus Society, Columbus Ohio, The Art of American Book Covers: 1875-1930.
Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio, Critique Workshop
2011 Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis. Material Meets Metaphor.
Mid-Manhattan Library, New York City. The Art of American Book Covers: 1875-1930.
2010 Yale University, New Haven. Material Meets Metaphor.
2009 University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Creating, Marketing and Distributing Art in a Virtual World.
2008 University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Material as Metaphor.
The Grolier Club, New York City. American Decorated Publishers' Bindings, 1872-1929.
The New School, New York City. Parallel Worlds: Explorations in Second Life. Sponsored by The Aperture Foundation.
2007 The University of Iowa, Iowa City. The Mitchell Lecture on the Art of the Book.
Location One, New York City. The Second Life® Art World.
The Second Life Community Conference, Chicago. The Art World Market of Second Life
2006 The Wizard Academy, Austin Texas. Advanced Thought Particles.
The Guild of BookWorkers Centenary Symposium, NY. The Book Art Movement from the 1970?s Forward.
2005 Brown University, Providence, RI.  Visiting Artist
Palmer School of Library and Information Science
, New York, NY. Book Art.
Brown University
, Providence, RI. List Art Center. Material as Metaphor.
The John Carter Brown Library, Providence, RI.  Sonia Galletti Lecture: The Book Art Movement.
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. Material as Metaphor.
2004 Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Material as Metaphor.
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ. Keynote Speech at the annual Book Arts Symposium.
2003 Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN. Material as Metaphor.
Joint conference session of the CAA and AIC, New York City:The Conservator as Artist: Innovation from Tradition
2001 SHARP Conference, College of William & Mary. 25 Years: The Book Art Movement 1974-1999
Long House Reserve
, East Hampton, NY.
"Art Criticism: Whose Truth?" Roundtable panel 
      with B.H. Friedman and Michael Kimmelman, moderated by Rose Slivka

The Hillwood Museum
, Long Island University, NY
San Diego Book Arts, Bay Park Press, San Diego, CA
The Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, La Jolla, CA
1997 Columbia College Chicago Center for the Book and Paper Arts
1996 The Book Arts Club, University of Iowa Center for the Book
1993 American Society of Journalists and Authors, Washington, DC
1990 Bibliotheque Nationale, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY 
1989 Pyramid Atlantic, Washington, DC 
1988 Galerie Zabriskie, Paris, France
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis
Artists' Bookworks, Chicago
U. of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City
Parsons School of Design, New York City
New York University, New York City
American Institute of Graphic Arts, Philadelphia 
1987 Master Workshop, Southampton Campus, Long Island University
1985 Ox-Bow Paper & Book Intensive, Saugatuck, MI 
1984 University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Organization of International Artists, Hanalei, Kauai 
1982 University of Georgia, Athens
Georgia State University, Atlanta 
1981 University of Washington, Seattle
Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Portland 
1980 Rhode Island School of Design Club, New York 
1979 Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
London College of Printing, England
Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, England
Byam Shaw School of Art, London, England
The British Crafts Centre, London, England 
1978 Camberwell School of Art And Crafts, England 
1976 School of Visual Arts, New York 
1973 Graduate School of Library Science, St. John's University, NY
   
Current
   
Studio Artist
   
History
 
2002-07 Chairman, Center for Book Arts, New York City
1974- Faculty, Center for Book Arts 
1990-98  President, Center for Book Arts  
1990 Director, First National Conference on "Book Arts in the USA"
1986-87 Director of Exhibitions, Center for for Book Arts  
1978-79 US/UK Bicentennial Fellow
1977-78 Instructor, School of Visual Arts
1974-78 Founder and President, Center for Book Arts, Inc.  
1972-74 Owned and operated hand bookbindery, printshop and art gallery
1970-71 Photographer, Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum  
1960-70 Owned and operated letterprpress printshop
 
Education
 
1969-71  Graduate Faculty, The New School for Social Research; Economics, Philosophy of Art
1968-69 Brown University, MA Economics 
1964-68 Brooklyn College, BA cum laude
  
Fellowshps/Grants
 
1996-97 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
1980-81 National Endowment for the Arts. Crafts Projects.
1978-79 NEA/ICA. US/UK Bicentennial Fellowship. 
1977-78 NEA. Craftsman's Fellowship. 
1976-77 NEA. Master Craftsmen's Apprenticeship. 
1975-76 NEA. Ditto (these two grants paid for Richard's apprentice).

Performances
 
1990-92 Readings from Minsky in Bed at Canio's Bookstore, Sag Harbor, NY
1985-87 Violinist in Tango quintet. Monthly performances at Agrupacion des Amigos del Tango en Nueva York 
1981 Performance of ?I Wanna be Riveted? as Old Man Rivet and the Rivetheads, Allan Stone Gallery, NY
1980 Violin/Language collaboration with Min Tanaka, NYC
Public Demonstration Book Burning, NYC
Fiddle Solo, Mass. State Agricultural Fair, Martha's Vineyard
Video Performance, University of Washington, Seattle 
1978-79 Conducted series of nine Seminars Dansants, London, England
1974-75 Three live performances of Gerald Jackson's 
Adventures in Ku-ta-ba Wa-do NYC. Composed music for
recording (39 minute LP) played on radio stations
WKCR, WNYU and WBAI
1973-74  Composer and Musical Director, Direct Theater, NYC
Wrote and produced music for Anele by Peter Gorman 
1971  Violinist in Paris at Festival de Montparnasse with 
two groups: Come With Us (Folk Rock) and Ray 
Stevens' Orchestra (Big Band Jazz), and on French
Television (ORTF), Concerts at Facult? de
Droit and many small clubs
 
Residencies
 
1990 Ox-Bow (Art Inst. of Chicago), Saugatuck, MI
1988 Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY  
1987 Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY  
1985 Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY
 

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