Fri 8/26-Sat 8/27
Bound = combined or fixed. Bound = leap or spring. Bound = destined or compelled.
The Bound Art Book + Zine Fair is about visual art that combines, leaps, and is destined. It attempts to show what it means to be an independent thinker and artist when traditional outlets of expression are difficult to access and are non-responsive to experimentation. This fair showcases regional creators of comics, photobooks, indie books and zines who will share and sell their work at MOCACleveland this weekend at Bound. Experimental, innovative, creative, and expressive, the artists will inspire with their discussion of their journey and creations.
On Fri 8/26 and Sat 8/27, you can walk into Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, without paying a thing, and discover the work of BOUND exhibitors. The experimental Loaded concert will feature bands Form A Log, Hiram-Maxim and Fake Species playing on MOCA’s loading dock on Friday from 8-10pm.
On Saturday WCSB-FM DJs will spin vinyl while visitors check out BOUND exhibitors. Throughout the day, special performances enhance the show and capture the imaginations of the audience. There will be an open art studio from 12-3pm, lectures on Dada 100 Years On and Independent Voices + Handmade Zines on a Budget, a panel discussion on Empowering Marginalized Communities Through Zines, and a Comic Book Reading. The party continues at the Grog Shop from 8pm-2am with Mourning A BLKstar, Hybrid Shakedown and Wildlife Soundz.
TR Ericsson curated the show. Local exhibitors include 80 Proof Comix, Alison Scarpulla, /BL^NT/ zine, Dumm Comics, Emily Poor, Jerry Birchfield, Justin Hustle, Justin Michael Will, Kent State University/Cleveland Public Library, Mac’s Backs Books, Meowville, My Idea of Fun, Nathan Melaragno, Shiner Comics, and Shquirat. BOUND draws its inspiration from Beat Generation writers whose work was rejected by mainstream literary magazines and began creating their legacies through do-it-yourself methods through use of mimeograph machines that allowed them to cheaply print poetry, political statements, art, and memoir in magazines.
The best example of one who embraced alternative ways to exhibit his art is Mark Mothersbaugh, who self-published his art book My Struggle, Booji Boy in 1977. The exhibition Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia is running from now through Sun 8/28 at MOCA. Myopia is a retrospective of the work of Mothersbaugh’s work from the early 1970s through the present.
Most know him best as co-founder of the New Wave band DEVO. He expressed himself through music, but over 40 years has produced drawings, films, paintings and sculpture. MOCA’s website explains that “Taken together, this incredibly unified body of work reveals the artist’s persistent attempt to navigate between the conflicting forces of cynicism and freedom, and irony and originality . . . Like his early work with DEVO, Mothersbaugh explores the complex relationship between what is synthetic and what is authentic.”
Art Book + Zine Fair is free + open to all. $5 admission for access to accompanying BOUND programs and MOCA exhibitions, free for MOCA members. Hours for BOUND: Art Book + Zine Fair are 5-10 on Friday and 11AM-6PM on Saturday. Find out more at mocacleveland.org/BOUND2016/.
Claudia J. Taller is the author of 30 Perfect Days, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life, a spiritual memoir, which can be found at amazon.com/Claudia-J.-Taller/.
Cleveland, OH 44106