There's hardly anything among the plastic arts more unbounded than book arts. A discipline so broad - sometimes arcanely scholarly and sometimes as giddy as a jack-in-the-box - the only thing an artist's book might have in common with a commercially produced volume could be paper; or a printed impression; or neither.

This summer's shows at The Center for Book Arts capitalize on the broad spectrum of artists' endeavors in the field. From the more book-like side, you'll find Poems & Pictures: A Renaissance in the Art of the Book, which explores relationships between visual and language arts. The exhibit features over 60 books produced between 1946 and 1981, as well as paintings, collages, periodicals, and ephemera. Poets, artists and collaborators include Wallace Berman, Joe Brainard, Robert Creeley, Jim Dine, Johanna Drucker, Philip Guston, Joanne Kyger, Emily McVarish, Karen Randall, Larry Rivers, George Schneeman, and many more.

Two from I will cut thrU, left by Janet Goldner; right by Anne Gilman, copyright the artists, courtesy The Center for Book Arts. To view an animated presentation of Collapse of the Home, Austin, by Railsmith, visit YouTube.

From the more free-wheeling side of the book arts world, I will cut thrU: Pochoirs, Carvings, and Other Cuttings presents wildly different ways in which contemporary artists slash through paper using pochoir (stenciling), relief printing, and altered books to present content, form, text, and image. The artworks featured in this exhibition include books, prints, woodblocks, linocuts, rubber stamps, sculpture, mixed-media installation, film and video, and performance art (including an installation by George Shortess that has noises made while books are being created as its soundtrack).

Tonight at 6:30 pm, three artists from I will cut thrU - George Shortess, Janet Goldner and Anne Gilman - will join curators Alexander Campos and Amber McMillan for a lively discussion about the state of the art.

Next Wednesday, July 28^th at 6:30, join Trevor Winkfield, Miles Champion, and Steve Clay of Granary Books (a notable element in the East Village underground) all of whom are represented in Poems & Pictures, for a discussion with Michael Basinski, curator of the Poetry Collection, University of Buffalo.

Both exhibitions continue through September 11^th at The Center for Book Arts. 28 West 27^th Street/3^rd Floor (west of Broadway), New York, NY. 212.481.0295 or email. The exhibitions are free and open to the public; suggested donation for events is $10/$5 for members. Please visit the website for information about classes and upcoming events, including the August edition of Book Arts Lounge.

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