WATERTOWN TAB

Fingers on the pulse of the town

By Dan Atkinson/ Staff Writer
Friday, March 11, 2005

There are many books about the history and culture of Watertown. Ann
Forbrush and Kathy Lobo wanted theirs to be a little more hands-on.

The two artists spent the past 18 months collaborating on four copies
of a four-volume set of artist’s books about the town, funded by a grant
from the Watertown Cultural Center. The books, which were displayed at the
Armenian Library and Museum of America, use textures and unconventional
design to focus on the artistic and creative history of Watertown.

“We’re interested in the fragments you see from the past,” Forbrush
said. “There’s a lot of little treasures around Watertown.”

For example, Lobo said, Watertown resident Sterling Eliot invented the
quadricycle – a four-wheeled pedal car that contained the model for the
braking system still used in cars today. And anyone who has thawed out a
pizza in the oven owes a debt to Watertown’s Euphrates Bakery, the first
business to market the frozen pizza.

Each book uses different artistic techniques to examine different areas
of Watertown, Forbrush said. “First Hand,” which looks at inventions and
products from Watertown, uses collage and occasionally the products
themselves, while “Hand Wrought” is made of various textiles and rubbings of
other handcrafted items around the town. “A Show of Hands” shows Watertown
residents and their hands creating everything from paintings to food, while
“Hand Signals” is a tribute to the Perkins School for the Blind, made up of
the various tiles and materials that comprise the school cut into outlines
of the school’s architecture.

Forbrush took photographs for the books and Lobo worked on the binding,
but the artistic direction of the books was collaborative, Lobo said.

“We passed the baton back and forth. We were constantly looking over
each other’s shoulder,” she said.

While each of the books has a different look, they are unified by their
focus on art and creation and their physical presence. “Hand Signals” is
bound with bolts to hold its blocks of wood and tile together, and “A Show
of Hands” is bound in a concertina style, stretching out to six feet when
fully extended.

A previous “handbook” that focused on women working with their hands
was the inspiration for this project, Forbrush said. And the pair has made
artist’s books out of less obvious material before, like an edible book
constructed of flatbread bound with licorice. But they think these new
volumes will be a bit longer-lasting.

“Artist’s books are an exploding niche,” according to Forbrush, who
said the pair is looking to sell the other three sets of books to a library
or university. “It’s a very small edition, one-of-a-kind.”

“You can’t make these with machines,” Lobo said.

But while these editions may be limited, Watertown’s history is not,
Lobo said. She and Forbrush want to create more artist’s books about the
town over the summer.

“We’re just scratching the surface,” she said. “There were so many
other stories people were telling us.”

One set of four has been donated to the Armenian Library and Museum of
America, 65 Main St.

Dan Atkinson can be reached at datkinso@cnc.com.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress