Artist Spotlight: Patrick Masterson

By Katie Snowden

Patrick Masterson loves words, from the way they make a poem come to life to the way they look in the pages of a book. The graduate student from Louisville, Ky. spends hours intricately designing the individual pages that lay inside of his books, hoping that others will appreciate the art that goes into every aspect of the publication.

Masterson chose book arts as his vehicle for artistic expression for multiple reasons, which he says sprung from his relationship to writing. “I am able to express myself in a myriad of ways, from typographic design and visual images, to my own writing or the editorial process of selecting work to publish,” Masterson said. He studied poetry writing at Columbia University and Bard College and now feels he has a responsibility as a writer to publish work as well.

Though his involvement with the visual arts has been more recent, Masterson has always considered himself a serious writer. He has printed and published books for five years with companies such as the Segue Reading Series in New York. He has worked with notable writers as well. Now, Masterson says he’s gaining a sense of happiness, engagement and community in his newfound involvement in this type of art.

“One of the primary vehicles for poetry is small press publishing and I wanted to be a producer not only of my own writing but bring the work of others in the world as well,” he said. “Not only am I a poet but a publisher and designer. I could not imagine isolating any one of those activities from any other. Each thing presupposes the other in my own practice.”

Making its debut at the University in 1985, the Book Arts program is located in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, School of Library and Information Studies. The program requires 60 credit hours that focus on printing/publishing, bookbinding, papermaking and the history of the book.

Masterson says he wants students to know that bookmaking “is a medium that can be approached from many angles and any one of those angles is infinite.”

On campus, Masterson has worked with the Bankhead Visiting Writers’ Series and the PUNCH Writers’ Project. He will soon have a Web site available for those wishing to view his work at www.therestpress.com.

To Masterson, Book Arts conveniently combines his favorite methods of expression. “[Book Arts] seems to me one of the most accommodating mediums in which to work, involving words, images and, where binding is concerned, structure as well.”

After receiving his degree, Masterson says he hopes to one day teach, and also continue to make books and write poems.

“I think one of the greatest influences on my life has been my involvement with writing and poetry,” asserts Masterson. “It has been a constant touchstone for defining my way of life aesthetically, ethically, and, in turn, vocationally. Most everything I do relates to it. My work is my life, and it has been a fulfilling one thus far.”

To learn more about UA’s Book Arts program, visit www.bookarts.ua.edu.