ARLINGTON, VA – An homage to one of the greatest Hebrew-language poets, The Amichai Windows is a work of love and dedication.
Rick Black, a book artist and poet, worked for the past 10 years to create a book that would last for the ages. The Amichai Windows, an exquisite bilingual artist book of Yehuda Amichai poems, sheds light on love, war, and being Jewish today.
This new collection of Amichai’s work is considered to be one of the most remarkable Jewish artist books of recent years. Andi Arnovitz, an American Israeli printmaker, book artist and multi-media artist termed The Amichai Windows “a visual and tactile feast—not only does one become immersed in the words and images but one must reveal and discover the poems, too”
Recently, the Yale University Library bought the first copy and will host a program at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Amichai, the most widely known Hebrew-language poet since King David, was nominated for the Nobel Prize and won numerous awards in Israel and abroad for his poems.
“I want people to absorb the texture of the papers in their fingertips and the meaning of the words in their hearts,” said Black, a former New York Times reporter in Jerusalem who has run his own poetry press for the past 12 years.
The book is being issued in a limited edition of 18 copies with a pre-publication sale price of $7,500. A limited number of individual prints will also be made available to the public.
The book itself features new translations of 18 letterpressed Amichai poems, an introduction by Hebrew literary critic Robert Alter, more than 100 images from archives around the world, a 28-page guide, replicas of Amichai’s handwritten poems, a window simulacrum enclosure with lace curtains, handmade paper with deckled edges, gold leaf and a variety of tip-ons and botanicals.
Book launches are planned at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, MD, at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University in New Haven, CT, and at Tmol Shilshom in Jerusalem, Israel
“Not many artist books have the depth of visual and cultural literacy as “The Amichai Windows,” said Helen Frederick, an American artist, curator and educator who founded Pyramid Atlantic. “It bears the journeys of the poet and the bookmaker who both walked meditative steps in Jerusalem.”
Black, a book artist for 12 years and a prize-winning poet, believes in the power of both words and images, and has a passion for the Hebrew language. He lived in Israel for six years, both as a student at the Hebrew University and as a reporter in the Jerusalem bureau of The New York Times. He has studied at the Center for Book Arts in New York City and Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Maryland.
“I wanted to make a book that would matter, that would move people deeply and reflect what it means to be a Jew today,” said Black, 60. “I will never make another book like this again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime labor of love that drew on all of my linguistic expertise, creative talents, knowledge of Israel and bookmaking skills.”
The exhibition at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center will be held from February 15 through February 21; a talk and reception are planned for 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 18, 2018. For more information on the exhibition, please call 301-608-9101.
For further information about the project visit: www.amichaiwindows.com or contact Rick Black at rick@amichaiwindows.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ART/PHOTOS AVAILABLE
January 2018
Contact: Rick Black
703-241-4127 or 908-227-7951
rick@turtlelightpress.com
