Kickstarter

Institute 193 and Guy Mendes would like to publish 40/40: Forty Years, Forty Portraits, a book that functions as a "studio tour" with Mendes. The book will trace Mendes' career through portraits taken over the last four decades. Each photo is complimented by a written passage about the subject being photographed. Wendell Berry has agreed to write an introduction for the book which will be available November 1, 2010. The book is being accompanied by an exhibition opening at Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky on December 2. The money raised through Kickstarter will be used to print the book and get a signed copy of it into your hands! This will be the first book published about Mendes' work in over 20 years.

40/40 PORTRAITS

Julie Moore
Mirrorman
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Harlan & Anna Hubbard
James Baker Hall
Bob May
Susan Kingsley
Bradley Picklesimer
Harry Caudill
Sister Gertrude Morgan
Martha Nelson Thomas
Little Enis
Pat Madden
Jonathan Williams
Joe Pecot
John Harrod
Minnie Black
David Hurt
Austin Coe
Edgar Tolson
James “Son Ford” Thomas
Guy Davenport
Cecil Ison
Ann Tower
Marsha Norman
Cowboy Steve Taylor
Whopper
Page Mendes
Bob Bass
James Still
Evan Decker
George C. Wolfe
Crit Clarkston
Wilson + Jess Mendes
Teri Faragher
Ashley Judd + Eddie Bracken
Ben Sollee + Daniel Martin Moore
Gaela Irwin
Bob Tharsing
Mary Agnes and Guy Mendes, Jr

Institute 193:

Institute 193 is a non-profit contemporary art space dedicated to enriching the cultural landscape of the Lexington-area by exhibiting emerging and mid-career professional artists from the Southern region of the United States. It serves as a point-of-departure for artists, providing them with professionally installed exhibitions, color catalogs of their work and scholarly essays pertaining to their show. Its goal is to advance the careers of regional artists in the more relevant markets across the globe. Artists are selected in function of the quality and relevance of their work and not by their commercial viability.

The Institute primarily focuses its efforts on the production of scholarly materials, show cards, exhibition catalogs, and anything tangible that may benefit the artist. It also hosts film-screenings, poetry readings and other community-driven events. In time, the Institute will participate in various art fairs across the country in a direct effort to expose Southern artists to the world-at-large and will ideally serve as a de facto ambassador for the city of Lexington and the Southern region, providing the foundation for a contemporary art center in Lexington.

Special thanks to Goldenrod for the video soundtrack and to Carly Schnur for the book layout and design.