March 6, 2009 (This Friday!) FREE EVENT: Manuscripts and Martinis

The Saint John’s Bible at The Walters
February 15, 2009 – May 24, 2009
10:00 AM – 05:00 PM

Featuring nearly 40 volumes from the Walters’ world-renowned collection of manuscripts and rare books, this exhibition will examine the historical traditions of illuminated scripture in the context of a 21st-century manuscript,The Saint John’s Bible. Although it is still yet to be finished, The Saint John’s Bible has already been recognized as a masterpiece of contemporary calligraphy and book arts, and this exhibition marks the first time the manuscript has been examined in its historical context.

The idea of making a manuscript Bible may seem strange at the dawn of the 21st century, particularly considering the time and resources that go into making such a large book: when finished, the seven-volume bible will contain 1,150 pages and measure approximately three feet wide by two feet tall when open. But a quick glance at the illuminations throughout the book reveals that this is a project very much of its time. The artists use bold, abstract designs and collage techniques to create stirring compositions that often incorporate visual imagery from the modern world, such as computer voice-prints and images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The community at Saint John’s University and Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, which commissioned the manuscript, has a long tradition of scholarly inquiry and social engagement, and many of the illuminations reflect these concerns through references to the biblical past and current events. As a whole, the project represents an ambitious effort to envision a modern biblical art that is nevertheless deeply rooted in the long-standing tradition of manuscript production

LECTURE
Scripture and the Scribe: Adorning the Bible across 1500 Years

Michelle P. Brown, Professor of Medieval
Manuscript Studies, University of London
Sunday, March 22, 2 p.m.
Price: Members free; non-members $10; students $5; pre-registration recommended
Location: Graham Auditorium

In the Middle Ages, monks and nuns copied and illuminated Biblical texts as part of their devotions to God. Today, such painstaking work has been undertaken by a team of artisans, led by calligrapher Donald Jackson, to produce The Saint John’s Bible for Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota. Michelle Brown, a recognized authority on medieval books, will trace 1500 years of adornment of Christian Scripture, examining the relationships between the Bible and the sacred texts of Judaism and Islam and their collective influence on the making and meaning of The Saint John’s Bible.  Brown served as the Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts for the British Library. She is the author of How Christianity Came to Britain and Ireland and The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society Spirituality and the Scribe.