The Codex Bolton Lecture

Sasha Grishin : The Book and the Hand : Canberra Books 1972-92

This is the first of an annual series of public lectures on the handmade book in Australia, held in honour of the late Alec Bolton of the Brindabella Press, Canberra 1972-1996. Each lecture is intended to reflect on the history of the handmade book as the background for its continuing life in the twenty-first century. The series has been made possible by the generous permission of the Bolton family, and each lecture will be given by a prominent writer/scholar in the field. For this inaugural lecture Codex Australia is delighted to present Sasha Grishin, the Sir William Dobell Professor of Art History at ANU, whose knowledge and scholarship is widely respected in the world of Australian art and in the art of the book.

Of his subject, Professor Grishin writes : “Alec Bolton’s Brindabella Press was a glorious manifestation of the hand crafted book, but it certainly was not the only expression of this interest in the book arts in Canberra at the time. The Graphic Investigation Workshop at the Canberra School of Art between 1978 and 1998 pioneered the development of the artists book and there were a number of other exciting but frequently ephemeral private presses. This inaugural Bolton Lecture explores Canberra’s vibrant book arts scene from the 1970s to the 1990s and poses the question as to why there was such a great eruption of interest in the hand made book during these three decades and reasons for its subsequent decline.”

Free Public Lecture.

Date: Wednesday 14 November 2012, at 6pm for 6.30

Venue: Leigh Scott Room, Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne

All welcome. Refreshment provided.

RSVP to codexaust@gmail.com (03) 9571 6856