Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, Seattle
October 19, 2012 – February 3, 2013
The University of Washington will host a focused exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery’s Test Site titled, Collected Stories: Books by Laurie Anderson, which traces the artist’s long-standing interest in storytelling, drawing, and technology. On view will be a selection of books produced over the last forty years. The exhibition will include early work such as the comic book Baloney and Moccasins and Transportation Transportation (1970) as well as work from the 1980s and 90s. Also featured are very recent works including The Language of the Future (Jezyc Przyszlosci), Delusion, and Pillow Book, all produced in 2012. The exhibition includes rare books and publications that focus on and highlight diverse aspects of the artist’s career.
Laurie Anderson has creatively mined the book format and explored it in a variety of media ranging from handmade and traditionally bound works on paper to audio and electronic formats. Her books are at times interwoven with her performances. Words with the Words The in Front of Them, included in the Henry’s installation, comprises in graphic form the text from her performance Dirtday!. A riotous and soulful collection of songs and stories, Dirtday! is the third and last in a series of solo story works that also includes Happiness and The End of the Moon. The artist will present Dirtday! at the UW’s Meany Hall on October 20, 2012.
Collected Stories: Books by Laurie Anderson offers an exceptional opportunity to engage with this crucial, ongoing, and still under-recognized aspect of the artist’s unique contribution to contemporary art.
The show will travel to The Galleries at the Elberson Fine Arts Center at Salem College, Winston Salem, NC, from April 1st through April 28th, 2013
