Book artist Brad Freeman, from the Center for Book, Paper, and Print at Columbia College, Chicago, has spent ten days at Bath Spa University’s School of Art and Design. Brad has been making artist books since the 1980s and in 1994 set up the Journal of Artists’ Books. Over the duration of Brad’s visit, he worked on a book inspired by photographs taken by his father who was a dentist in the American Army during the 1960s. Brad’s book launch was hosted by Bath Spa University at Newton Park on the evening of 13 November. Brad was able to tell us a bit more about the ‘story’ behind his book, remarking that he sees it as a ‘visual narrative’ and now appreciates the relationship between photography and narrative in a way he did not before. The book contains a short series of photographs that his father took while based in Korea and Japan. Brad has carefully selected and arranged the photographs to reflect the perspective of the world that his father revealed. The book, printed on Japanese paper and bound in a traditional Japanese way, ranges from photographs that capture the simplicity of a Korean woman doing her washing to ones that show the devastation and ‘perishing’ of the public in the Hiroshima bombings. Brad plans to take the books back to Chicago to finish the binding and thanks Bath Spa University for his ‘really wonderful experience’. A copy of Brad’s book will be donated to the Bath School of Art and Design’s special collections. Brad’s visit was supported by GALA and the College of Liberal Arts and is hosted by the Making Books Research Centre. We thank Brad for collaborating with us and wish him the best of luck for the future.

http://www.bradfreemanbooks.com/ Author: Savannah-Rae Squair, Bath Spa University