“As an artist I use photography, book arts, and paper as material to explore ideas around how we perceive and relate to landscape and nature. My photographic process centers on my sense-based experience of being immersed in and affected by the landscape. I pursue a grounded way of looking at nature that considers my position as an artist and observer in relation to animist ideas about the forces, histories, and hidden agency within land and ecological systems. My encounters with landscape are experienced as an exchange. Combining photography with book arts and paper sculpture provides unique avenues to display photography in layered and interactive ways, expanding photography’s ability to convey experiences. Books are intimate objects and time-based experiences that allow for incorporating different materials, media, and information as well as opportunities for unexpected discovery in hidden spaces and interactive elements within the book.”
Slide 1:
Located to the east and behind Black Rock Point in the Black Rock Desert is a small playa with an island in the middle. This book combines sequential images taken while walking around the island in a flagbook format with a larger image of the surrounding landscape printed on the back.
Slide 2:
The Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area is a 2,650-acre forested property owned by the University of Nevada, Reno. It is situated on the traditional homelands of the Wašiw (Washoe) peoples, along the eastern Sierra Front, bordered on the west by the Tahoe Rim and the east by the community of Washoe Valley. This accordion book features photos taken in the forest during the summer of 2024 as part of the Whittell Forest Graduate Research Grant.
Slide 3:
Hillside+Hillside is a collaborative drumleaf book of ekphrastic poetry by Tristan Beach and photographs by Bobby Lee made at Hillside Cemetery in Reno, Nevada. Hillside+Hillside is a collaborative drumleaf book of ekphrastic poetry by Tristan Beach and photographs by Bobby Lee made at Hillside Cemetery in Reno, Nevada.
Come view these works in person at #thelibraryisopen 📚🪱
#research
#bookartist
#blackrock
#bookexhibition
Continuing our 2025 exhibition recap, 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 – 𝘼 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 highlighted the powerful intersection of art, research, and place.
Featuring geotagged photographs by @bleephotography , the exhibition captured the breadth and ecological diversity of the Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area, a 2,650-acre forested landscape along the eastern Sierra Front and the traditional homelands of the Wasiw (Washoe) peoples.
The exhibition offered visitors a deeper look at the forest as an active site of learning and discovery, revealing how careful observation can expand our understanding of environmental systems.
Supported by the @unevadareno Whittell Forest Graduate Research Grant, this exhibition was a meaningful part of our 2025 season, underscoring the role of art in environmental awareness and stewardship.
How can contemporary photography challenge traditional narratives of landscape? In 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴, Bobby Lee’s (@bleephotography ) journeys into the geological stories of the Sierra Nevada’s high alpine canyons, confronting histories of colonialism, indigenous erasure, and the exploitation of land.
The book bridges traditional ways of visualizing land with critical questions of colonial mapping and the enduring agency of the landscape itself.
#HandmadePhotobookWeek juror Laila Nahar (@naharlaila ) states: “The striking photos of the intricate rock layers are juxtaposed with geological maps and satellite images to highlight the physical and human realities of the territory, challenging traditional narratives of landscape exploration. The multilayered sewn-in accordion with inside-flaps, foldouts and texts creates a beautiful visual dialogue between the physical landscape and the human and social factors influencing it.”
Currently on view at the @griffinmuseum ’s 2025 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 exhibition curated by Sangyon Joo (@datzmuseum ).
Learn more about this feature at the link in bio!
#handmade #handmadephotobook #photobook #publishing #independentpublishing #bookarts #bookartist
We are so excited to be hosting an engaging workshop at the Society for Photographic Education Conference @spe_west , where we will explore the theme of adaptation through the art of bookmaking. Participants will learn how to create flag book and panorama book structures and engage in discussion around the potential intersections of book arts and photography. This workshop aims to empower participants to explore the multifaceted theme of adaptation through a hands-on, creative experience. By the end, each participant will leave with flag book and panorama book models that can be used as references to create their own versions at home. Join us in this journey of discovery and expression!
Instructor: Bobby Lee is a landscape photographer and book artist whose work focuses on the natural world and sense of geologic time revealed in exposed rock layers and other landforms. Rooted in a sense-based experience of encountering and exploring landscapes of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin, his photographic work incorporates multiple image arrangements and the creation of photobooks to allow for a deeper examination of ideas around human relationships to land.
#takephotosmakebooks
#flagbook
#panoramabook
#blackrockpress
#adaptation
You are invited to attend Un/Altered Rock, Bobby Lee’s MFA Thesis Exhibition. Un/Altered Rock combines photography and paper sculpture to explore conceptions of altered and unaltered rocks, questioning where and when the boundaries of different conceptions overlap and contradict each other.
The exhibition will be on view from April 30 - May 8th at Student Galleries South, Jot Travis Building. An artist talk will take place Thurs May 2nd at 5pm, Jot Travis Building, Rm 100, with the opening reception to follow from 6-8pm.
