Jack Kerouac: ON THE ROAD
On the Road Around the World:
66 International Book Covers from the Collection of Horst Spandler
Experimental Literature and the Intersection with Artists’ Books
October 3-November 26, 2008
Center for Book & Paper Arts
1104 South Wabash Avenue, 2nd Floor
Gallery Hours:
Monday-Friday, 12 pm-7 pm
Saturday & Sunday, 12 pm-5 pm
Opening Reception
October 3, 5:30-8:00 pm
Jack Kerouac: ON THE ROAD
Jack Kerouac’s iconic manuscript scroll of On the Road is the centerpiece of a college-wide initiative investigating the disparate group of poets, artists, filmmakers and musicians known as the Beat Generation. The first draft of On the Road was produced by Jack Kerouac in a three-week writing marathon. Kerouac created a 120-foot-long continuous scroll of semi-translucent paper by pasting and taping together separate 12-foot-long strips so he could feed the it through the typewriter without interruption. In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of On the Road, the exhibition offers visitors the rare opportunity to see the original draft, containing Kerouac’s own edits in pencil, and using the real names of those depicted in the published novel including Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. Visitors are invited to record their personal impressions, thoughts and comments at an audio kiosk.
This manuscript is on loan from the collection of James S. Irsay.
©Estate of Anthony G. Sampatacacus and the Estate of Jan Kerouac. Photographs courtesy of Christie's, New York.
On the Road Around the World: 66 International Book Covers from the Collection of Horst Spandler
"When I'm old, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to study languages reading these." -Kerouac's 1966 comment referring to the numerous foreign editions of his books.
Jack Kerouac 's global reputation is evidenced in the numerous foreign editions of his books—many of which are still in print. The Center for Book & Paper Arts presents sixty-six On the Road covers from the collection of Kerouac/Beat scholar, Horst Spandler. The covers are a feast for the eyes, evincing a wide-array of graphic styles and interpretations that range from the beautifully evocative to conspicuous caricature.
On the Road,
publisher: Kawade Bunko, Japan, 1983.
From the Collection of Horst Spandler.
Experimental Literature and the Intersection with Artists’ Books
In conjunction with Jack Kerouac: On the Road, this curated exhibition highlights the ongoing exploration of writers/artists in the area of experimental literature vis-a-vis artists’ books. Co-curated by Kyle Schlesinger and Craig Dworkin, the exhibition's point of departure is Kerouac's now iconic On the Road manuscript. The catalog for Experimental Literature and the Intersection with Artists’ Books will be produced as JAB24 (the Journal of Artists' Books #24). Rather than focusing specifically on the Beat culture and literature, the curators have chosen to allow contributors to elucidate and interpret the terms "experimental literature" and "artists' books" for themselves. Essays by Alastair Johnston, Susan Vanderborg, Tate Shaw and Chris Burnett will be included.
During the reception on October 3 and on October 17, there will be readings by poets based in the greater Chicago area and whose work exemplifies contemporary experimental poetic practice in the tradition fostered by the small press and artists’ books tradition. David Pavelich and Patrick Durgin have organized these poetry readings. Full lineup can be found here.