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A new student-curated exhibit at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries explores the exciting world of book arts, with a focus on the intersection of art, craftsmanship and literature.
Undergraduate students participating in the Art and Fine Bindings Buchanan Library Fellowship during spring 2025 have created Book as Art: Preserving Cultural Heritage and Knowledge under the guidance of mentor Teresa Gray, curator of rare books at the Heard Libraries. Fellows Laird Ruiz-Perez, Zhewei Xian, Yoshi Yano and Zhihe Zhang examined bookmaking techniques by studying examples of historical bindings from the 16th through the 21st centuries in the holdings of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives.
In addition to the exhibit, the fellows created their own artist-inspired books using handmade papers and traditional binding techniques. The fellows explored watercolor painting, oil painting, paper embossing and silverpoint. Elizabeth Moodey, associate professor of history of art and architecture, also provided a guest lecture on a Book of Hours from 1480 and the making of medieval manuscripts as part of the fellowship.
Book as Art: Preserving Cultural Heritage and Knowledge can be viewed in the Special Collections gallery at 1101 19th Ave. S. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
To learn more, view the exhibit online.
