PROJECT

Combing Columbus: Photogenic Drawings for the Bicentennial

Original drawings and paintings in pencil, gouache, watercolor, and photo re-touch paint on paper; photographed and pages composed digitally by the artist. Book off-set printed; dimensions: 9 3/4" x 14"; edition of 1,175;

ARTIST

Mary Jo Bole

Columbus, OH

Published April 2013

Columbus Metropolitan Library
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OVERVIEW

Sculptor, printmaker, and bookmaker Mary Jo Bole worked throughout the bicentennial year to create drawings for a commemorative book about Columbus. The artist's delight in historical facts—and curiosities—guided her extensive research in libraries and archives throughout the city, where she unearthed historical images of Columbus ranging from the profound and moving to the absurd and hilarious. Bole distilled a smorgasbord of material into 36 drawings that were published in a contemporary version of a commemorative tome: an artist's book with images and notes on Columbus's past and present filtered through Bole's idiosyncratic vision of the city she calls home. Among her subjects were a rendering of a Christopher Columbus cartoon character from the 1912 centennial celebration soaking his sore feet and Bole’s tops picks of Doo Dah Parade revelers from more recent decades. Did you know that there was an infestation of squirrels that brought about the Great Squirrel Hunt of 1822—followed in 1903 by the construction of a "miniature residence for the state house squirrels...placed in position on the Broad St. side of the lawn?" Neither did we. All this (and much more) awaits readers between the covers of Combing Columbus. During Bole’s Artist’s Talk on May 2, 2013, over forty copies of the book were presented to the Columbus Metropolitan Library system; copies were placed in every branch library in order to make this Finding Time project readily available to the citizens of Columbus.

RELATED EVENTS

»Artist’s Book Talk with Mary Jo Bole to Celebrate the Publication of Combing Columbus. April 17, 2013, 4 pm, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, 1871 North High Street.
»Exhibition of Drawings from Combing Columbus. April–June, 2013, Main Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 South Grant Avenue.
»Meet the Artist Presentation with Mary Jo Bole. May 2, 2013, 10 am, Main Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 South Grant Avenue.

SPECIAL THANKS

Many individuals and groups provided assistance and advice to Mary Jo Bole during the course of work on Combing Columbus. Read her complete acknowledgments in the book.

PRESS

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Combing Columbus: Photogenic Drawings for the Bicentennial Cover of the book
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