The Rise and Fall of Books

Like many scholars in this increasingly digitized age, Buzz Spector spends a lot of time thinking about the fate of print culture. Unlike most of us, however, Spector transforms his thoughts about the future of the book into works of art. Spector, a professor of art at Washington University, is also an internationally renowned “book artist” whose installations, sculptures, photographs, and drawings have been exhibited in many museums and galleries in the U.S. and overseas. Spector's work often contains books, both as subjects and objects, and The Rise and Fall of Books follows Spector during one month in the winter of 2007, as he teaches a class of Cornell University art students how to use books as art-making material and to think about the values that reading and collecting books contribute to society. The film also traces the emotional journey that led Spector to this unique form of art expression. (St. Louis International Film Festival)