Book art brings news perspectives to the Alaska automobile history

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – On June 6, a group of artists displayed and spoke to their work at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum which in turn inspired their creations.

Here in the golden heart community there is both an abundance of art and history. They can often be found hand in hand as well. This combination not only leads to historic pieces, but helps us understand the past in new and exciting ways.

That very combination led to one – or rather 21 such perspectives at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum.

The museum collaborated with the Northwoods Book Arts Guild to create a project that resulted in 21 pieces of art from 18 artists, each a member of the guild. The project began over one year ago when the guild reached out to the museum. “The goal was to have the members of their guild come to the museum and kind of reinterpret the pieces in the museum in a book form,” said Tim Cerny, the owner of the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum.

At the premiere of the book art pieces each artist spoke to attendees about their work and what specifically they were inspired by. This included the cars, clothes, and culture of the historic pieces at the museum, many of which could be considered art by modern standards.

These artists came to the museum on a regular basis to gather inspiration for the art, each book re-examining and adding life to the exhibits they were inspired by. The collections included books mostly with words, but there were also plenty of books featuring pictures, or other forms of art such as collages. Many of these works of art had additional art pieces that went along with the books including jewelry, pictures, and even a purse.

“I think it provides a different avenue or a different way to look at what we have on display here and that’s what art is and what artists do,” Cerny said. “They reinterpret earlier art or provide a lens if you will to look at it in a different way.”

The Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum is located at 212 Wedgewood Drive, in Fairbanks, where the book art will be on display until July 6.

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