Art Show: OPEN BOOK featured at Lamar Public Library

Colorado Arts of Recovery, in conjunction with Southeast Health Group, is hosting an art opening at Lamar Public Library at 102 E. Parmenter Street, from 5-7 PM on Thursday, July 17^th.  The show, titled “Open Book,” includes artworks made by manipulating recycled book pages.  The public is invited to enjoy music and light refreshments while viewing the show.

The work is based on the methods of Tom Phillips, a British artist made famous by his book “Humuments.”  According to Phillips, a Humument is a radical ‘treatment’ of a forgotten Victorian novel by means of collage, cut-up, ornament and other techniques.  Pages become artworks by subtracting words and adding images that tell a story.

One in five Americans has a diagnosable mental illness at any given time, and it can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, gender or social standing.  “People living with mental illnesses are so misunderstood,” said Nancy King, founder and board president of Colorado Arts of Recovery.  “Fear is rampant in the media, but when you actually get to know someone who lives with a mental illness, you realize they are everyday people facing many of the same day to day challenges as the rest of us.”

Colorado Arts of Recovery is a statewide nonprofit organization combating the stigma of mental illness by helping artists and others living with severe mental illnesses make social, emotional and economic connections in mainstream society.  The show will stay at the library through the end of July.

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