ALPHABETUM BOTANICUM
This exhibition features Kandis Vermeer Phillips’ illuminated letters, which are intertwined with plants, mammals and insects. Each letter is paired with a botanical artwork from the Institute’s collection to create a literal or amusing relationship between the two, such as the connection of ants with an aardvark and a peony bud, the sunflower as a food source for a cardinal or the similar shapes of a fox’s tail and foxtail grass. Along with the artworks, three 15th-century illuminated manuscript leaves from Special Collections, Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, are on exhibit with a display of the tools, pigments and other materials used in illumination.
Phillips initiated this alphabet after a friend recommended that she combine her miniature paintings of flowers, birds and insects into letterforms. She had extensively studied the history of medieval illuminated manuscripts and the use of natural pigments in that period. Decorative letterforms were used in religious texts to designate new sections and were painted in opaque colors of red or blue. Colored letters might include white patterns, backgrounds with natural images, fantastical creatures or gilding with metal leaf. The birth of her granddaughter Ashton in 2006 inspired the design of an abecedarium filled with meaningful representations of flowers and creatures found in her garden or during her family’s travels. Phillips’ final designs were transferred to the smooth surface of parchment (in this case sheepskin) to allow for fine detail in a small scale. Using a drybrush technique with a 000 brush, she built up color and value with individual delicate strokes and outlined the letters with shell gold. This alphabet was completed in 2010, and the artist continues to experiment with other letter images and processes, including metalpoint drawing.
Opening reception
The reception on Thursday, 13 September (5:00–7:00 p.m.) is open to the public. At 5:30 p.m. the curators and Phillips will give a short introduction to the exhibition in the gallery.
Artist demonstration
Phillips will give a demonstration on drawing letterforms in silverpoint in the gallery on Friday, 14 September (10:00 a.m.–noon and 2:00–4:00 p.m.). She will have available sketches showing the metalpoint process along with various metals and prepared papers with which visitors may experiment. In addition, she will discuss informally the history of illumination and metalpoint during the demonstration.
Hours
The exhibition will be on display on the 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University and will be open to the public free of charge. Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–noon and 1:00–5:00 p.m. (except 22–23 November). Because our hours of operation are occasionally subject to change, please call or email before your visit to confirm. For further information, contact the Hunt Institute at 412-268-2434.
About the Institute
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, a research division of Carnegie Mellon University, specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of plant science and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation. To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains authoritative collections of books, plant images, manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides publications and other modes of information service. The Institute meets the reference needs of botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, especially those concerned with any aspect of the North American flora.