Biography

Ellen Knudson is currently Associate in Book Arts at The University of Florida. She holds a joint position between the Special and Area Studies Collections Libraries and the School of Art and Art History. Ellen received an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama (2006). She has been a book artist and graphic designer for over 25 years, including graphic design positions at The Art Institute of Chicago and The Detroit Institute of Arts. She has taught letterpress printing and Book Arts at The University of Florida, The University of Alabama, and graphic design at Mississippi State University and Wayne State University, as well as letterpress & book arts workshops around the country. Her work is in the collections of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA), Yale University (CT), The Library of Congress (DC), and many other national and international collections. Crooked Letter Press is the imprint under which Ellen produces her artist's books and letterpress ephemera. The work produced by Crooked Letter Press is the synthesis of images and words in the form of letterpress printed handmade books and printed matter.

In all of the work produced by the press, a visual space is created in which the reader/viewer is an active participant. The type is to be viewed, the imagery to be read, and vice versa. The choices of text, imagery, materials, and binding style are made entirely in support of the specific environment of the printed piece.

“I’m interested in the distillation of a subject using typography and image within the book form. Reading is a sequential and time-based process. My interest in the book lies in the opportunity to guide a reader’s progression through the visual realm of text and image. I also revel in the craft of book art: the exploration of materials, and the effort to strike a balance between artistic and practical choices. Those processes involve intimacy and acute observation. That is ultimately what my work is about.”