{"id":6138,"date":"2017-10-31T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/?p=6138"},"modified":"2018-01-30T14:47:51","modified_gmt":"2018-01-30T20:47:51","slug":"new-artists-books-delightful-and-disturbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/2017\/10\/31\/new-artists-books-delightful-and-disturbing\/","title":{"rendered":"New Artists’ Books: Delightful and Disturbing"},"content":{"rendered":"

DePaul University Special Collections and Archives<\/a> has acquired two mesmerizing titles created by one of our favorite book artists, Maureen Cummins<\/a>. Drawing on archival resources and historical themes to illuminate contemporary issues, Cummins\u2019 work is a natural fit for our rare book collection and instructional program.<\/p>\n

With its warm reds and yellowed paper, Collection: a Collection of Collections<\/a><\/em> documents a personal and unexpected exchange between Cummins and a group of female acquaintances, while the sharp and metallic The\/rapist<\/a><\/em> critically examines the work of infamous lobotomist<\/a> Walter Freeman and his (primarily female) patients. The works capture two very different views of American women\u2019s experiences.<\/p>\n

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The metal box that houses \u201cThe\/rapist.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Detail from \u201cCollection.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Handwritten text personalizes many of Collection’s stories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Collection<\/em> focuses on a series of miniature, hand-painted \u201cBleeding Hearts of Jesus\u201d that Cummins purchased in the summer of 2013. All presumably painted by one woman in the early 20th century, Cummins sent the painted hearts as Valentine\u2019s cards to other women artists. Their expressive responses to the images motivated Cummins to elicit further stories of \u201clove, longing, or loss\u201d from the women. Precise reproductions of the bleeding hearts accompany the women\u2019s intimate lists and stories\u2014their collections and recollections\u2014in their own words.<\/p>\n

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A series of concentric circles obscure patient identities, and recalls the impact of the violent procedure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\/rapist<\/em>, composed on aluminum and encased in its own metal box, weighs over ten pounds. Its unique format and composition make it one of the few books in our collection to require cotton gloves for handling (its disturbing subject matter makes it one of the few books in our collection that you might not want to touch with your own bare hands\u2026). Cummins cut progressively smaller holes into each \u201cpage\u201d of the book, boring deeper into the history of Walter Freeman\u2019s work and into images of female patients–many of the portraits gleaned from Freeman\u2019s own textbook. It is a chilling reflection on a violent medical procedure, Freeman\u2019s misuse of medical authority, and the tragedy of the 3,000-plus patients whose purported mental illness he \u201ctreated\u201d by inserting a surgical instrument into their brains–via their eye sockets.<\/p>\n

Though both books are available to researchers in the Special Collections and Archives (SPCA) reading room, they were acquired specifically as teaching resources. Each year SPCA works directly with DePaul faculty members to introduce entire classes of students to primary source research, or to archival and rare book sources on a variety of historical and contemporary topics. Cummins\u2019 works will have a natural place in any of our instruction sessions that feature books<\/a> and archival resources<\/a> documenting women\u2019s and gender issues, or discussing book arts<\/a> and artists\u2019 books.<\/p>\n

Explore these two incredible works\u2014or Cummins’\u00a0other titles<\/a>–by visiting Special Collections and Archives<\/a> in room 314 of the John T. Richardson Library, or contact us at archives@depaul.edu<\/a>. For more information on teaching with these or other SPCA materials, please contact Morgen Macintosh Hodgetts<\/a>, or submit a request for instruction<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DePaul University Special Collections and Archives has acquired two mesmerizing titles created by one of our favorite book artists, Maureen Cummins. Drawing on archival resources and historical themes to illuminate contemporary issues, Cummins\u2019 work is a natural fit for our rare book collection and instructional program. With its warm reds and yellowed paper, Collection: a <\/p>\n

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