Hedi Kyle

The Voluminous Page

Course Description
Traditionally we think of pages as the recto and verso of leaves, either single or as part of folded sections. In this workshop we will focus on layers, extensions, and three dimensional build-ups to elevate the flatness of the page, to expand its boundaries. The interplay of light and shadow, the discovery and disappearance of things contained within the book, are important features. Several binding structures will be adapted to fit the concept of the voluminous page. When displayed, these books reveal more than ordinary page spreads. As time allows, we will outfit one book with images, words, and textures using innovative techniques.

Skill Level
Beginner to Advanced.

Artist's Biography
Hedi Kyle thinks of her books as liberated objects that have escaped their expected function but still reflect the intrinsic characteristics of tradition. She integrates conservation bookbinding with conceptual art and various forms of printing technology, inventing new book structures which have been quickly and widely disseminated.

Hedi recently retired as Head Conservator at the American Philosophical Society. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. At the University she teaches book structures to MFA students of the Graduate Program in Book Arts and Printmaking. Hedi graduated from the Werk-Kunst Schule in Wiesbaden, Germany. After a brief career as a graphic designer, her interests turned to book arts and book conservation. Her one-of-a-kind constructions have been exhibited internationally and are in private and public collections. She is co-founder of Paper and Book Intensive (PBI), and she has given workshops in the U.S., Canada, and Switzerland for more than twenty years.

Artist's Statement
Book Arts and Printmaking – an affinity where one evokes the other. At best they collide in an outburst of new energy, propelled from a traditional concept to new realms we are just beginning to explore. The book of the future is not totally defined at the threshold of the information age. Because it is tangible and mechanically ingenuous, it is here to stay – not for the same reasons and the same purposes perhaps, but to capture an interest in tactile and visual reading.