Doug Beube
Artist Statement
Anyone who has ridden a New York City subway post-911 has heard the frequent broadcast warnings: “If you see something, say something!” or “Backpacks will be inspected!” Blast, If you See Something, Say Something, alludes to these cautionary announcements, and consists of sixteen altered volumes of an Encyclopedia Britannica. Brown wax seals the top and bottom of the cylindrical books, with black and red connective wires clamping onto metal hooks embedded in the top of each cylinder, calling to mind an improvised explosive device. However, this IED isantithetical to those homemade weapons, which aim to destroy life. When these altered books metaphorically discharge, the books imaginatively burst into streams of knowledge, which strike everyone in the target zone with either wisdom or propaganda. The artwork does not actually explode, but it certainly appears dangerous. As Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power.”
Lives: Brooklyn, NY
Education
M.F.A., Photography, The Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY, Conferred by S.U.N.Y., Buffalo, NY, 1983
B.F.A., Film, York University, Toronto, Canada, 1974
Selected Exhibitions
2013
Artists’ Books, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library/Rare Books, Buffalo, NY
Cutting Edge: Contemporary Paper Art, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY
Rebound: Dissections and Excavations in Book Arts, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
2012
A Cut Above: 12 Paper Masters, Christopher Henry Gallery, New York, NY
Beaten & Bound: A National Exhibition of Book & Paper Arts, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Booked, Williams Center Gallery, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
2011
Mapping: Memory and Motion in Contemporary Art, Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY
PaperWork In 3-D, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT
Pulpfiction: The Art of Paper, Portsmouth Museum, Portsmouth, VA
2010
Slash: Paper Under the Knife, Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY (traveling, catalogue)
2010
A Stitch in Jewish Time: Provocative Textiles, Jewish Institute of Religion Museum, Hebrew Union College, New York, NY
Tri-Fold: New Perspectives on Book Arts, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Unbound; A National Exhibition of Book Arts, Bedford Gallery at Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
I will cut thru: Pochoirs, Carvings, and Other Cuttings, Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
Selected Grants and Awards
2011 Cassilhaus Residency, Frank Konhaus & Ellen Cassilly, Chapel Hill, NC
2007, 2008 Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
2005 Residency, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Selected Publications
Brillenburg Wurth, Kiene. Ed. Between Page and Screen, New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2012
Cogswell, Margaret Couch. Book Play: Creative Adventures in Handmade Books. Asheville, NC: Lark Crafts, 2013.
Cohn, Marian. Ed. Doug Beube: Breaking the Codex: Bookwork, Collage and Mixed Media,Brooklyn, NY: The Iconoclastic Museum Press, 2011.
Salamony, Sandra. Peter & Donna Thomas. 1,000 Artists’ Books: Exploring the Book as Art.Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 2012.
Selected Collections
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
The Book Under Pressure, The Allan Chasanoff Bookworks Collection, New York, NY
The Jack Ginsberg Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
New York Public Library, Byrd Collection, New York, NY
Website: www.dougbeube.com