Jazz-inspired art at 87Florida

“Music Box”, the current exhibit at 87Florida, offers an innovative way to view the art of jazz.  Textured books and prints created by eleven artists comprise this unique show.  All of the featured works in “Music Box” exude strong affiliations to jazz and blues music.  The concept for “Music Box” was developed by Lynn Sures and John Risseeuw and curated by Lynn Sures.  The opening reception was held on Friday, April 2nd and had quite a large turnout complete with live jazz music.

Lynn Sures and John Risseeuw are artists whose work has been heavily influenced by music.  They met at an event in Italy and the idea for “Music Box” was born.   Over time they collectively contacted other artists who worked in a similar vein, inviting them to be a part of the exhibition.  The artists supplied the necessary shipping arrangements for their work and Ceci Cole McInturff  provided the space and the musicians for the opening night.  87Florida supports artists and curators by offering space to exhibit work, but retains no percentage of sales.  “Music Box” marks the fifteenth event hosted by 87Florida.

Lynn Sures exhibits two works on hand-made paper in addition to a textured book.  One of the works  on paper is a series of four woodcuts that share the same theme as her book, Variations on Dialectic between Mingus and Pithecanthropus Erectus (I really hope I am spelling this correctly).  Sures used reflective gold pulp in the paper she made for the woodcuts.  When looking closely at these woodcuts the viewer is able to see tiny gold sparkles throughout the paper, which gives the pieces a certain magical glow.  Each of the four woodcuts comprise the back covers of her accordion shaped book, while poetry accompanied by woodcuts done using multi-colored paper pulp form the inside.  When talking with Lynn Sures, I learned that Mingus was a particular base player she had always been fond of and during his career had written a piece of music called “Pithecanthropus Erectus”.  Sures has always been interested in hominids and was struck by Mingus’s thoughts on how early man set the stage for our own life.  Sures’s book depicts the birth of humanity; a dialect between Mingus and Pithecanthropus Erectus over time.  Lynn Sures told me the concept and design of Variations on Dialectic between Mingus and Pithecanthropus Erectus took about five years.  She worked as a press assistant to Terrence Chouinard of the Wing & the Wheel Press in upstate New York and helped make the fifty-five copies of her book that exist today.  Looking at Lynn Sures’s delicate water marks of Mingus and Pithecanthropus Erectus and intricate woodcuts it is evident her hard work and passion has made Variations on Dialectic between Mingus and Pithecanthropus Erectus a masterpiece.    

Like Lynn Sures, John Risseeuw also makes his own paper and has four prints and two books featured in “Music Box”.  One of his works on paper includes an array of nicknames for well known musicians, such as “Satchmo” (a reference to Louis Armstrong). Risseeuw currently teaches at Arizona State University and is passionate about social issues.  He recently completed a land mine project overseas and made paper from the clothing he collected.  Risseeuw’s work reflects his strong interest in jazz and politics.

I want to give proper credit to the other amazing artists that are part of this show, but if I mentioned each one’s work in detail this article would turn into a novel!  The work of C.J. Grossman and Alice Simpson brings a sense of whimsy to “Music Box”.  Both artists use brightly colored cutouts to form their textured books.  Grossman’s cutouts have an abstract style reminiscent of Matisse while Simpson depicts men and woman dancing; an homage to those who love do dance.  Doug Beube, another artist represented in “Music Box”, meticulously dug out two identical concave sculptural forms on the cover of two books about K.D. Lang.  Beube used these existing books as the foundation for one of his altered books.  From talking with Lynn Sures, I learned that an altered book is  classified under the broader term book arts and refers to a book that is both an artist’s material as well as an end product.  Beube drew molecular chains throughout the pages of these two books, highlighting certain words and phrases.  He then cut a few of the pages into rectangular strips and sewed zippers connecting each page, making everything detachable.  The zippers also create a structure, allowing the altered book to be free standing.  I found Beube’s work to be incredibly inventive and fascinating.

As I previously wrote, there many other wonderful textured books displayed in “Music Box” that I did not have a chance to mention.  I encourage everyone to visit this lovely artist’s space before June 2nd, the last day of the exhibition.  The address of the space is in the title, which helps those directionally challenged people such as myself!

“Music Box” at 87Florida, open Sundays from 11-4 during the month of May and by appointment, 87 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20001.