Spokane, Washington   April 15-23, 2005
	John Laursen Since 1970, John Laursen has been a book designer, editor, typographer, and production manager.   In the 1970s and early 1980s, Laursen primarily designed and produced works on paper, specializing in books, posters, and letterpress broadsides. Books--mostly books of photography, history, and art--continue to be a large part of his work. Also, for the past eighteen years he has executed projects that involve design and typography on a larger scale, putting words into such architectural media as granite, bronze, steel, and glass-- often for public art installations. In addition to design, editing, and typography, he usually serves as project manager, overseeing both the production of books and the fabrication and installation of public art works.   Laursen's clients are for the most part non-profit organizations focused on the arts, education, history, and the environment. They have included the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Historical Society Press, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Cooley Memorial Art Gallery at Reed College, Whitman College, the Cowlitz County Historical Museum, the Art Gym at Marylhurst University, the Library of Congress Center for the Book, Portland Parks and Recreation, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.   Laursen's public art projects have included the Oregon Holocaust Memorial; The Oregon Plaques for the Oregon Convention Center; Hazel Hall Park for the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission; the Zoo Station Geologic Timeline and a dozen other projects for Westside Light Rail.   The Special Collections Department of the University of Oregon Library houses a complete collection of John Laursen's works on paper. Over the years his books and letterpress broadsides have been exhibited at a number of venues in Portland and Seattle. In 2000, he was awarded a $5,000 Personal Project Grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.   Laursen also is founding co-editor--in collaboration with Terry Toedtemeier, curator of photography at the Portland Art Museum--of the Northwest Photography series, the intent of which is to expand public awareness of and access to an important regional cultural resource by publishing the finest of the Northwest's historical and contemporary photographs in a series of high-quality, large-format, clothbound books. Other current projects include the Columbine Memorial in Littleton, Colorado; and Portland's Walk of the Heroines, a park at Portland State University honoring women and their contributions to the community.     Salman Rushdie  |  Rita Dove  |  David Sedaris  |  Bob Edwards  |  Robert Bly Workshops  |  Tickets  |  Schedule  |  Panels  |  Keynotes  |  Children's Events  |  Authors  |  Sponsors  |  Back to Main