Even the Form of a Book Becomes a Work of Art... Dat Museum’s 'Transparency of Things'

[Financial News] An artist-book exhibition in which everything from the texture of paper to the way books are bound becomes part of the artwork is underway in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
According to Dat Museum on the 21st, the special exhibition 'Transparency of Things,' which opened on the 12th, will run through December 27. Four book artists—Jule Claudia Mahn, Patricia Lagarde, Veronica Schäpers and Song Hae-in—are participating.
The exhibition explores the artistic possibilities of books through paper and light, printing and binding, and the structure of pages. The artists have incorporated their individual interests not only into the content of their books but also into their materials and forms.
Song Hae-in, who is from South Korea, combines traditional bookbinding techniques with various printmaking methods. She uses the texture of paper, traces of printing and the flow of pages to express personal experiences and reflections.
Jule Claudia Mahn explores how time and place, as well as personal and German social history, are formed. Through paper and type, printmaking and bookbinding, she connects the act of reading with the sensory experience offered by materials.
Patricia Lagarde, who is from Mexico, examines memory and methods of documentation through photography. Inspired by the ways objects are collected and classified, she combines images with the structure of books.
Veronica Schäpers, a German book artist and bookbinder, focuses on the relationship between a book’s structure and its content. She learned about traditional Japanese paper materials and production methods, and has expanded books into three-dimensional sculptures through diverse materials and intricate binding.
Reading only the content printed in a book can mean overlooking the expression embedded in its materials and structure. Examining what kind of paper was chosen and how it was bound offers another clue to understanding the work of the four artists.
Joo Sang-yeon, director of Dat Museum, explained in the curatorial text, "There is no single right answer to making a book," adding, "There is only a process of making choices—leaving every possibility open and eliminating them one by one."
The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. General admission is 5,000 won, with a 50% discount every Wednesday for 'Culture Day.'
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