Press
Release: Immediate
August 5,
1999
Famed
illustrator Barry Moser brings history-making Bible
project to UI
IOWA CITY- Barry
Moser, the famed illustrator whose artistry has brought
to life fabled classics such as "Moby Dick," "Jump Again!
More Adventures of Brer Rabbit," and nearly 200 other
books, says he's become obsessed with his latest
challenge: to illustrate the Old and New Testaments of
the Bible, something a single artist hasn't done in the
20th century. As a guest of the University of Iowa
Libraries and the Center for the Book, Moser will talk
publicly at 8 p.m., Nov. 12 about the Pennyroyal Caxton
Press edition of the Holy Bible, which will be on display
that evening for audience viewing. At the free, public
lecture, "Tankah and Testament: A Reprobate Tinkers with
Holy Writ," Moser will talk about how he, a
self-described ordinary man, and a non-communicant in
faith who reveres the book as sacred, has dealt with
designing and illustrating the King James Bible. The
lecture is sponsored by the UI's Ida Cornelia Beam
Distinguished Visiting Professor program.
The Bible will be
seen in the Midwest for the first time in Iowa City
following select display engagements in Los Angeles,
Jerusalem and other cities. When completed, Moser will
have created 240 engraved images that illustrate the
400-copy, limited edition Pennyroyal Caxton Press Bible,
a name that connotes the publishers' ownership. Moser's
privately owned Pennyroyal Press, and the Caxton Corp.,
owned by New York investor Bruce Kovner, are jointly
producing the fine press Bible, which will be sold on a
first-come, first-served basis for $10,000 apiece. Moser,
a former fundamentalist preacher from Tennessee, has sold
to Viking Studio the rights to publish a more affordable
$65 edition two weeks after the first edition is
published. A copy of the Bible has been purchased for the
Libraries collections through the generosity of former
Libraries' staff member Curtis Stucki, Olympia,
Washington.
"The UI Libraries
have worked with Barry Moser for many years and hold one
of the most complete collections of his work in the
world," said Sid Huttner, head of Special Collections.
"We are profoundly grateful to Curtis Stucki for his gift
which makes this acquisition possible." Many of the
images, shown in an illustrated folio edition of the
Bible, are harrowing and unlike traditional Biblical
illustrations. In "The Last Judgment," an illustration
inspired by Revelation 20:12, Moser shows Christ
descending from the heavens, his face cast downward at a
penitent man who is seen cowering atop a bed of human
skulls in fearful anticipation of his final judgment. In
another illustration, Adam and Eve look African.
"I suppose you
could say the Bible is a more permanent manifestation of
my preaching. The images ask questions of my readers, and
that's what really good preaching ought to do," Moser
says. The UI's Center for the Book Research and
Production Paper Facility is producing 2,500 sheets of
specially made, unbleached muslin rag paper that will be
used to assemble the Bible. The paper, white in color is
made to resonate with the color of the Bible's vellum
binding. The Center for the Book sheets will be the first
and last blank sheets of paper the reader sees when
opening and closing the Bible. The Center's white sheets
provide a transition from the vellum cover to the
special, German-made wove sheet on which the Bible's text
will be printed. Lynn Amlie, the production facility shop
manager, says the facility expects the paper production
will be completed this summer. We're interested in
incorporating the latest technology with the historical
techniques that we're known for, without sacrificing the
strength and aesthetic characteristics of the paper,
Amlie says. "It's a marrying of past traditions with the
potential of the future," she says. "The volume of paper
required, as well as the physical demands have led us to
redefine how we work together. Moser's project allows us
to look backward at the process, not because we want to
go back to historical paper making techniques, but rather
to utilize the best of what was developed in the past and
apply it to contemporary uses today. This requires a high
level of skill and commitment, and we're proud to have a
dedicated group of students working at this facility,"
Amilie says.
The Center for
the Book will also publish a new fine press book by Moser
later this year titled "Wood Engraving: Notes on the
Craft," a 33-page how-to-book about wood engravings. The
book, originally written 20 years ago, was significantly
rewritten exclusively for the Center for the Book.
Moser's respect for the Center for the Book and its staff
led him to select Kim Merker, founding director of the
Center for the Book, and pre-eminent American printer, as
one of the project's six typographic advisors. Merker has
known Moser professionally for many years and provided
assistance to Moser on other projects.
The public can
view Moser's work and take part in related events on the
following dates: October 1999 - January 2000: "Open Book:
The Book Studies Community at the University of Iowa," in
the North Exhibition Lobby of the Main Library. This
exhibition features diverse interdisciplinary activities
relating to book studies and the arts of the book at the
UI, and will focus on a variety of activities and
creations which make the UI a major center for book
studies. Moser's fine press works and reproductions of
part of the Bible will be featured.
Nov. 1 - Dec. 1:
Exhibition: "The Arts of Barry Moser" and the Pennyroyal
Caxton Bible will be on view at the Department of Special
Collection, 3rd Floor, Main Library.
Friday, Nov. 12,
8 p.m.: Ida Beam Distinguished Lecture, "Tanakh and
Testament: A Reprobate Tinkers with Holy Writ," a free
and public lecture presented by Moser. Held at Shambaugh
Auditorium. The Bible will be on view at this
event.
Moser's visit and
related programs are co-sponsored by the UI Libraries,
the Center for the Book, and assistance from the UI Ida
Cornelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor Program,
and the American Printing History Association's Ben J.
Lieberman Lecture Fund.
For more
information about the exhibitions, contact Sid Huttner,
head, Special Collections, at 335-5921, or David
Schoonover, rare book librarian, Special Collections, at
319-335-5923. A Web site on the Bible project created by
the Pennyroyal Press can be visited at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/friends/moser.html
