Lisa Kokin: How the West Was Sewn

For the past two decades, Lisa Kokin has been at the forefront of an emerging new art form: the artist’s book. Through preservation and destruction, she utilizes book spines and covers by disguising and weaving them into colorful wall installations. The artist pushes her medium beyond the customary use. Sewing, stapling, riveting, shredding, pulping, gluing and reconstituting books salvaged from such sources as recycling centers, Kokin repurposes the discarded books into works woven with text and image that cast intricate shadows onto the walls. The branch shapes make reference to the origins of the books as trees or plant fibers. Lisa Kokin received her BFA (1989) and MFA (1991) from the California College of Arts in Oakland, California.

Organized by the Boise Art Museum

IMAGE: Lisa Kokin, Lost River (detail), thread, wire, book pages
from Lost River Buckaroos, 75″ x 51″ x 12″