#PIECES 1982 RUNNING AROUND PROFESSIONAL#
In the course of 36 pages I have spun some stories about Jan and his dominant place in the late twentieth century renaissance of American book arts – but tried to stay away from just listing professional accomplishments, which one can read elsewhere and instead, concentrated on the way he and Jarmila lived and to bring to life a personality that was large and generous, by telling the stories that one tells more privately about a favorite and occasionally, peculiar uncle. Here I trace the three decades of collaboration between the two of us – him binding my books and organizing occasional book arts exhibitions in the US and Europe. The book I have written, etched and printed about Jan is entitled Remembering Jan Sobota. I was close to Jan and so I have accepted the responsibility of setting words to paper with what I remember, before that memory grows dim and details begin to blur and be forgotten. There he and Jarmila ran workshops and took on the occasional apprentice. Jan clearly had a following among American bookbinders, quite a few of whom, followed him to the Czech Republic.
I also worked with him in Cleveland and up until the end, in the Czech republic as well. I worked regularly with Jan during the years he was head conservator at SMU in Dallas. He was my friend and collaborator for nearly three decades, but more importantly, he was an important participant in the renaissance of American Book Arts taking place in the 1980’s and 1990’s that eventually led to the establishment of the book arts as a discipline being taught in university art departments, and having standing as art in museums. Thirty years of collaboration in the book arts
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