Utah State Today press release: Wednesday, July 3, 2013

University Libraries at USU Presents Green Cat Press Exhibition

University Libraries at Utah State University is drawing from its own collection for the next exhibition in the Merrill-Cazier Library atrium. The exhibit features a number of broadsides from the Green Cat Press collection. The exhibit can be seen now through Sept. 8.

The Green Cat Press collection of broadsides was purchased in 2010 in honor of Lucia Rhodes, a longtime supporter of USU’s University Libraries and former director of the university’s phonathon fundraiser. The exhibit presents a partial selection of the works.

Green Cat Press is a small, private press in Salt Lake City that produces broadsides and hand-bound books. The artistic combination of imagery and text are designed and hand-printed by the press, working with authors and artists. The press was created nearly 30 years ago by Susan Makov and Patrick Eddington. According to exhibit notes, the name, Green Cat Press, reflects a connection to Irish roots and a “fondness for cats.”

“Initially, poems were chosen for their cat-related themes,” the notes say. “The press evolved from designing pieces around selected works into collaborating with many writers and artists who created original poems or drawings specifically for the press.”

The library exhibit includes a description of a broadsheet.

“A broadside is a single sheet of paper printed on one side, usually including both text and illustration,” exhibit notes state. “Historically, broadsides were transitory in nature, posted publically to convey news, advertising, pronouncements or opinions. Modern broadsides are often produced by small presses and have evolved into a fine art variant, continuing the combination of text and illustration, but intended for display as lasting artworks.”

While only a sampling of the Green Cat Press collection of broadsides is being shown in the exhibit, other pieces can be viewed by requesting call number “Book Coll. 67a” at Special Collections and Archives located on the lower level of Merrill-Cazier Library.

The exhibit is a part of University Libraries’ ongoing exhibition program.

Writer: Patrick Williams