Ruth E. Edwards

Ruth E. Edwards, a.k.a. Ruth·ology, is a book artist, instructor and founder of Books in Black, a collective of African American book makers.

Ruth E. Edwards
Born (1940-04-02) 2 April 1940
New York, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationCenter for Book Arts
Alma materPace University
Known forartists' books, curator, paper engineering

Biography

Ruth E. Edwards was born in New York. She received her undergraduate degree in business from Pace University. In 1998, after a career as an administrator for a major New York bank, Edwards was introduced to handmade book arts.[1] She took various bookmaking courses at the Center for Book Arts in New York City to learn the craft. Edwards would later serve on the Center for Book Arts Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004.[2][3][4][5]

Ruth·ology

Edwards creates and publishes unique and limited-edition artists books of various structures such as accordion, miniature, eight-page single sheet, pop-up, scrolls, and star or carousel books under the name Ruth·ology.

Edwards’ work, Black Rodeo, was included in the landmark Minnesota Center for Book Arts 2007 exhibit “We, Too, Are Book Artists” curated by Amos Paul Kennedy. The exhibit showcased unique books by twenty-three artists including Ben Blout, Dindga McCannon, Clarissa Sligh, Danny Tisdale, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Kara Walker, and Bisa Washington. The exhibition was the “first large-scale exhibit of African-American book art.”[6]

Selected Works

The following are selected titles created by Edwards.

  • Black Rodeo, illustrations by Izell Glover, limited edition, 2003. Star book structure with leather cover. Included in the 2007 exhibit "We, Too, Are Book Artists."[7]
  • Book, 14-page whimsical miniature book, limited edition of 121, 1998. Included in the UCLA Library Department of Special Collections, Young Research Collection.[8][9]
  • The Circus (2002), Included in the 2003 Instructors Exhibition at the Center for Book Arts, NY.[10]
  • How the Sandwich Got Its Name, limited edition, circa. 2005. Short history of the sandwich from its invention by the Earl of Sandwich.
  • On the Ropes, about Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. One of a kind, circa. 2003.[11]
  • Read, 14-page miniature book and companion to Book, limited edition of 121, circa 1998.[12]
  • She Put a Dent In It!, biography of Clotilde Dent Bowen, MD, the first Black woman to attain the rank of Colonel in the United States Army. One of a kind, circa. 2003.[13]
  • The Steps of A Giant, about Colin L. Powell. One of a kind, circa. 2003.[14]
  • Tits: The Indignities Thrust Upon Sisters, Limited edition, circa. 2000. Comical look at annual mammograms.[15]
  • With Care. A dos-a-dos book structure, housed in a wooden box. One side has text by Edwards. The other side has illustrations by Tom Feelings.[16]

Books in Black
Books in Black poster by R Gregory Christie, circa 2007, was used to promote the artists' book making collective.

Books in Black is a collective of individual African Americans and others from the African diaspora who are “ordinary people who make extraordinary books.”[17] The group informally came together in late 2002 to crafts books for a Black History Month program. Following the successful reception of its 2003 exhibit, Edwards formally organized the group.[18] The collective focused on creating unique books that highlighted aspects of African American history and achievement. "We are not trying to write an encyclopedia. We write a few sentences to steer people in the right direction, and to say, this was one man and he made one heck of a contribution," Edwards told one reporter.[19]

Professionally, members included art and music teachers, computer specialists, crafters, dollmakers, event planners, illustrators, librarians, photographers, and mixed media artists.[20] Exhibiting members include Edwards, the collective’s founder, and the following:

  1. Jamil Abdul-Azim
  2. Kamari Allah
  3. Gail Beckford
  4. R. Gregory Christie
  5. Vernell Conyers
  6. Francine J. Davis
  7. Valerie Deas
  8. Shirley Eddings
  9. Brenda H. Falus
  10. Ione M. Foote
  11. Cheryl Shackelton Hawkins
  12. Paula Holland
  13. Cleo Meri Abut Jarvis
  14. Katrina Jeffries
  15. Wanda Jones
  16. Yvonne Lamar-Rogers
  17. Evemnise Landsman
  18. Irene M. Mays
  19. Sandra Oei
  20. Andrea Ramsey
  21. Sandra Redman
  22. Shimoda
  23. Dolores Taylor
  24. Harriette Washington-Williams
  25. JoAnn Williams

Selected Exhibitions

Edwards curated each Books in Black exhibition. Each exhibit included promotional postcards and distinctively-made catalogs or exhibition lists.[21]

Year Dates Title Location Notes
2003 Feb 1 – Mar 31 Inventing in Color: A Tribute to Black Inventors by African-American Artisans[22] Mount Vernon Public Library, Mount Vernon, NY Exhibit included 32 artists books. Each book highlighted a specific Black inventor such as biochemist Emmett Chappelle, flight attendant Debrilla M. Ratchford, scientist George Washington Carver, engineer Garrett A. Morgan and inventor Sarah Boone. The library extended the exhibit by one month because it was so popular with local teachers and students.[23]
2003 Nov 14 – Nov 23 Inventing In Color Festival de Arte Negra, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
2004 Jan 29 – Apr 5 The First One Who…! The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY Seventeen Blacks in Book artists exhibited 32 structural books. Books profiled artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, singers Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin, comedian Moms Mabley, businessman Ernest Stanley O’Neal, and other newsworthy “firsts.” The exhibit was dedicated to artist Tom Feelings, according to the exhibit catalog.
2005 Feb 1 – Mar 20 Book Arts: Inventing in Color[24] Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, NY Also featured at the library were exhibits of works by photographer Martha Cooper and African American quilter Edward Bostick.
2006 Oct 10 – Jan 31 Books in Black: A New Page![25] The National Museum of Catholic Art and History, New York, NY Two themes: Inventing in Color included 19 artists books and The First Ones Who …! included 13 artists books.
2007 Feb 15 – Apr 15 Books in Black: A New Page! A Tribute to Black Inventors[26] The Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 38 handcrafted books feature achievements by Dr. George Franklin Grant, who patented the first golf tee, prima ballerina Janet Collins, and the carbon filament inventor Lewis Howard Lattimer.[27]
2007 Jul 15 – Aug 31 Books in Black: A New Page! A Tribute to Black Inventors & First Achievers Cary-McPheeters Gallery, Auburn Avenue Research Library of African American Culture and History, Atlanta, GA Exhibit included 37 artists books.
2011 Jul 1 – Aug 5 Books in Black: A New Page! Salem Courthouse Community Center, Salem, NY Works by fourteen Books in Black collective members featured.

Co-op City Youth and Book Arts

Edwards, a longtime resident of Co-op City in the Bronx, taught book arts and other life skills to children ages 12 to 18 from 2007 to 2011 through the Scholarship Incentive Awards Program, which she founded. In 2008, the young people collected recipes and created a limited-edition cookbook titled “What’s Cookin? Recipes of the Elders."[28][29]

Electrified by the election of President Barack Obama, eight young people in the Scholarship Incentive Awards Program created an artists' book inspired by their hopes for the new leader. Each participant wrote a personal letter expressing their hopes to the president. Each focused on a specific topic and created the accompanied illustrations. The participants included Tara E. Davis (the economy), Samantha M. Medina (education), Matthew Salmon (health care), Anthony Purnell (war), Newton V. Salmo (domestic energy), Shaneice Silvera (global warming), Quinten Campbell (international relations) and Bryce Campbell (racial harmony). Edward instructed the participants and designed the 30-foot long accordion book.[30]

Deborah Willis, co-author of the book Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs, met with the group and helped raised funds for the project.[31] Over several months the teens handmade sixteen copies of the accordion-fold book.

In August 2009, during Co-op City’s annual National Night Out, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. and Congressman Joseph Crowley joined Edwards and the teens to unfurl and display the 30-foot long book to festival attendees.[32] Crowley’s office was instrumental in delivering a copy of the book to the White House in 2010.

In 2014, President Obama's To Do List, the artists' book Edwards and her eight young students created, was added to the Smithsonian Libraries permanent collection.[33][34][35] Doug Litts, head of the American Art Museum/National Art Museum Library at the time, noted that “only 6 to 10 books from throughout the nation are added to the collection each year.”[36]

Ruth E. Edwards in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

References
  1. Edwards, Ruth E. (January 1, 1999). "Happy New Year!". Letter to Family and Friends. Book Architecture Resources Center, Salem, NY. Ruth E. Edwards Biography vertical files.
  2. "Center for Book Arts Archive Summer 2001". centerforbookarts.dreamhosters.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  3. "Center for Book Arts Archive Summer 2002". centerforbookarts.dreamhosters.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  4. "Center for Book Arts Archive Summer 2003". centerforbookarts.dreamhosters.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  5. "Center for Book Arts Archive Winter and Spring 2004". centerforbookarts.dreamhosters.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  6. Abbe, Mary (10 Aug 2007). "Black Books". Minneapolis Star Tribune at Newspapers.com (Page F10). Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  7. "We, Too, Are Book Artists". Minnesota Center for Book Arts. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. Edwards, Ruth E. (1998). "Book". Ruth*ology. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  9. Edwards, Ruth E (1998). Book. Worldcat.org. OCLC 48910114. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  10. "The Center for Book Arts Ruth E. Edwards". www.centerforbookarts.net. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  11. "The Center for Book Arts Ruth E. Edwards". www.centerforbookarts.net. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. Edwards, Ruth E (1998). Read. Worldcat.org. Ruth E. Edwards. OCLC 1127912425. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. "The Center for Book Arts Ruth E. Edwards". www.centerforbookarts.net. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  14. "The Center for Book Arts Ruth E. Edwards". www.centerforbookarts.net. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  15. Edwards, Ruth E (2008). Tits: the indignities thrust upon sisters. Worldcat.org. Ruthology. OCLC 727943809. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  16. Edwards, Ruth E; Feelings, Tom (2000). With care. Worldcat.org. Ruthology. OCLC 136957850. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  17. "Bound & Lettered". www.johnnealbooks.com. 4 (2): 17. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  18. "The First Meeting". The Limited Edition, Books in Black Newsletter. 1 (1): 1. May 2004.
  19. Yee, Ivette (5 Mar 2007). "FAU exhibit honors black inventors". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  20. "Member Directory". Books in Black Directory. Book Architecture Resources Center, Salem, NY. Books in Black vertical file: 3.
  21. "Books in Black exhibits". Catalogs and Promotional Materials. Book Architecture Resources Center, Salem, NY. Books in Black vertical file.
  22. Stuttig, Bill (15 Mar 2003). "Inventing a way to expose black inventors". Co-op City Times. p. 3.
  23. Brown, Stacy (27 Feb 2003). "Honoring black inventors". The Journal News. p. 1B.
  24. "BPL presents Contemporary Art in celebration of Black History Month". Caribbean Life Queens/Long Island newspaper. Feb 2005. p. 32.
  25. "Books in Black continues to remember". Co-op City Times. 7 Oct 2006. p. 39.
  26. "Book art honors firsts, achievements of blacks". The Palm Beach Post. 11 Mar 2007. p. 16D.
  27. Yee, Ivette (5 Mar 2007). "FAU exhibit honors black inventors". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  28. "Building 18 Scholarship Incentive Awards Program". Co-Op City Times. 10 May 2008.
  29. "Pots and pans rattled in Building 18". Co-Op City Times. 7 Jun 2008.
  30. Stuttig, Bill (25 Jul 2009). "From Building 18 to Obama with Love". Co-Op City Times. p. 3.
  31. Stuttig, Bill (25 Jul 2009). "From Building 18 to Obama with Love". Co-Op City Times. p. 3.
  32. "Mayor joins Co-op City in celebrating National Night Out". Co-Op City Times. 8 Aug 2009. p. 7.
  33. "President Obama's to do list". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  34. "A Visit from Co-op City and an Artists' Book for the Collection – Smithsonian Libraries / Unbound". blog.library.si.edu. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  35. "Co-Op City young history makers feted at reception". Co-Op City Times. 9 Aug 2014. pp. 1, 3, 8.
  36. Stuttig, Bill. "Co-Op City youth book tribute to Obama to be displayed at Smithsonian" (26 Apr 2014). p. 3.
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