Magicians have been using illusionary techniques for centuries to mesmerize and trick audiences. Many principles of stage illusions are relevant to book art: sequencing and timing, hiding and revealing information, and orchestrating an audience’s experience. This presentation provides an overview of historical “magical” devices such as the blow book, magic wallet, and volvelles with a focus on their connection to book art structures. Further conceptual ties can be made between book art and magic through the “black art” of printing, curation of information, and the use of spectacle to tell a story.
Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder
Smoke & Mirrors: Stage Magic & Illusion in Book Arts
Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder
Coyote Bones Press
Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder is a book artist and proprietor of Coyote Bones Press. Keri holds an MFA in Book Art & Creative Writing from Mills College, and has worked at Flying Fish Press and BookLab II. She is based in Santa Fe, NM and works as the curator for the Palace Press. Schroeder was the Artist-in-Residence at Jaffe Center for Book Arts in 2019-2020, winner of the 2022 MCBA Prize and selected as the Mann Lecturer in Book Arts at Penn State University in 2023. Her work is held in many prominent collections including Stanford, Harvard, RISD, and The British Library.
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