Manu-Scripts

Curated by John Cino October 7 – December 10, 2023

Reception: Oct. 7, 2023, 5:00 – 7:00PM

Learning to Look: Oct. 23, 2023, 6:30 – 7:30 PM (In person and on Zoom)

Coffee with a curator: November 18, 2023 12:00 Noon (On person and on Zoom)

Manu-Scripts features the works of artists whose works consider the physicality of writing in the development of their imagery. Built upon writing, the artists of Manu-Scripts never seek to create a readable message.Archeologists have discovered throughout the world ancient writings and texts inscribed in stone, bone, and wood, painted onto walls, or marked onto folios. In some cases, these have been translated, in others they have not. Even when translations are not available it is still obvious that these markings carry

meaning. The early 20th Century artist Wassily Kandinsky (Composition X, 1939 and Paul Klee (Insula Dulcamara, 1938) explored the expressive use of invented script in their late works. Abstract expressionists Franz Kline (Mahoning, 1956) and Cy Twombly (Cold Stream, 1966) explored the physicality of gestures involved with writing.

Among the artists of Manu-Scripts who continue these traditions are Darlene Charneco, Cui Fei, Linda Ganjian, and Justin Greenwald. The cuneiforms of the ancient Near East are recalled in the multitude of nails hammered into the works of Darlene Charneco. Cui Fei has an eye for unique shapes of wooded twigs which she ‘translates’ into approximations of Chinese texts. Linda Ganjian builds her paper towers with scripts of extinct languages. Justin Greenwald weaves the automatic writing of numerical digits in dense patterning which resemble a tapestry of Norse runes.

 Into the Spines and on the Stacks

Manu-Scripts is paired with Into the Spines and on the Stacks, a special exhibition that will travel to Patchogue-Medford Library and Medford Library.

Works for Into the Spines and on the Stacks, were selected from a call and invitational for miniature installations. MoCA L.I. invitedand encouraged artists to respond to works of literature and consider creating miniature installations thatwould be presented on the shelf alongside the editions of fiction and non-fiction.Into the Spines concurrent with Manu-Script is an intimate exploration of books as physical objects. Each piece is a miniature installation within the confines of a book jacket. The viewer must peer into the spine to see the installation.

  Artists in Into the Spines include John Cino, Andrea Cote, Cui Fei, Kathryn Ko, Maria Macedonio, Loretta Oberheim, Eileen Palmer, Seema Pandya, Chris Vivas, Annemarie Waugh, Amanda Reilly, and Jayne Dion.

TRAVELING TO SCHEM LIBRARY IN LATE JULY 2024