Friday 18 September 2009

stilled lives


stilled lives (detail of front cover). Photography Tony Richards.

stilled lives is a new limited edition artists’ book edited by Carson & Miller. It takes as its starting point the books held by Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections. Twenty-two contributors – including artists, designers, writers and poets – have reinterpreted this museum collection across the pages of this collaborative work.

Across the Garden Wall (The Last Lads) Clinton Cahill. Photography by Tony Richards.


stilled lives is published by Manchester School of Art’s Righton Press (Manchester Metropolitan University) and is edited by artists Carson & Miller. The book is currently displayed as part of MMU Special Collections latest exhibition: The Story of Things.

stilled lives is published in a limited edition of 130. Each copy is signed by the contributors and comes with a slip cover (price £55, ISBN: 978-1-900756-54-4).


Signed contributor pages from stilled lives . Photography by Tony Richards.


More about Righton Press
Righton Press is both a publisher and a book making collective based in the School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. Work from Righton Press is actively collected, with members’ books in many collections, including Tate Gallery and the V&A. More information available at www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk/rightonpress.

The Story of Things, curated by Carson & Miller



Carson & Miller's latest exhibition is now open. For more information about The Story of Things please read on...

In a museum ‘things’ sit beside one another in sometimes unlikely combinations. They tell something of their own story but also produce new narratives, just by being together.


Installation view of The Story of Things at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Gallery. Photography by Tony Richards. © MMU Special Collections & the photographer.

Working with MMU Special Collections, including the North West Film Archive, Carson & Miller have curated an exhibition that explores ideas of narrative, memory and collections. MMU academic Dr. Patricia Allmer (Research Fellow, MIRIAD) explores the activities of Carson & Miller in an essay written to accompany the exhibition: On Being Touched.


A visitor at the private view of The Story of Things examines an exhibit. Photography by Tony Richards. © MMU Special Collections & the photographer.

A new artists’ book by Carson & Miller – Scrapbook (the story of things) – has been published by MMU Special Collections to coincide with the exhibition.

In tandem to The Story of Things a Righton Press publication will be launched. Stilled Lives is a new collaborative work bringing together artists, designers, poets and writers from across MMU. Edited by Carson & Miller this limited edition volume showcases a striking and thoughtful range of responses to the books held in MMU Special Collections, provoking further explorations of narrative, memory and collections.


Installation view of The Story of Things at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Gallery. Photography by Tony Richards. © MMU Special Collections & the photographer.

For more information about MMU Special Collections go to www.specialcollections.mmu.ac.uk.
For more information about Righton Press go to
www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk/rightonpress.

Doll’s head or lamp fitting (1920-1929), celluloid with painted details, from the Manchester School of Art Collection at MMU Special Collections. Photography by Tony Richards. © MMU Special Collections & the photographer.