Judith Dupre
Encyclopedia
Judith Dupré is a writer and public speaker. She is the author of several works of narrative nonfiction that explore the intersection of art, photography, and architecture. She has been described as “a scholar with a novelist’s eye for detail and a journalist’s easy style.”
The unusual shapes and bindings of her books echo their subject matter, and suggest the tradition and material presence of the illuminated book. Skyscrapers is 18” high. Bridges is a yard wide when open, to accommodate panoramic photos of the longest structures. The cover of Churches is split down the center so that it opens like the doors of a cathedral
. The cover of Monuments: America’s History in Art and Memory is a replica, in raised relief, of ancient stones; its deeply incised title lettering was drawn for the book by Nicholas Benson
.
Each page design includes deep-captioned photographs, floating quotations, and sidebar explorations. The page layouts suggest a kinetic reading experience beyond the turning of successive pages, and have been designed to create individualized reading experiences, where the reader chooses how to engage the array of photographs, essays and marginal commentaries.
Dupré was born into a family of architectural preservationists. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University
in 1978 and did postgraduate work at Hunter College
and the Open Atelier of Design and Architecture, both in New York City
. In 2005, she matriculated at Yale Divinity School
and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music
. She has curated and consulted on numerous contemporary art exhibitions, including an installation of temporary refugee
housing on Sterling Quad at Yale Divinity School in 2007. From 1979 through 1990, she curated the Harry N. Abrams Art Collection, an important collection of pop art
assembled by the art book publisher Harry Abrams.
The unusual shapes and bindings of her books echo their subject matter, and suggest the tradition and material presence of the illuminated book. Skyscrapers is 18” high. Bridges is a yard wide when open, to accommodate panoramic photos of the longest structures. The cover of Churches is split down the center so that it opens like the doors of a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. The cover of Monuments: America’s History in Art and Memory is a replica, in raised relief, of ancient stones; its deeply incised title lettering was drawn for the book by Nicholas Benson
Nicholas Benson
Nicholas Waite Benson is a third generation American stone carver and owner of The John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. He was named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow.-Early life:...
.
Each page design includes deep-captioned photographs, floating quotations, and sidebar explorations. The page layouts suggest a kinetic reading experience beyond the turning of successive pages, and have been designed to create individualized reading experiences, where the reader chooses how to engage the array of photographs, essays and marginal commentaries.
Dupré was born into a family of architectural preservationists. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1978 and did postgraduate work at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
and the Open Atelier of Design and Architecture, both in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 2005, she matriculated at Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music
Yale Institute of Sacred Music
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music traces its roots to the School of Sacred Music founded at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The seminary's department of church music was brought to Yale in 1972, entering into partnership with the Yale School of Music and the Yale Divinity School...
. She has curated and consulted on numerous contemporary art exhibitions, including an installation of temporary refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
housing on Sterling Quad at Yale Divinity School in 2007. From 1979 through 1990, she curated the Harry N. Abrams Art Collection, an important collection of pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
assembled by the art book publisher Harry Abrams.
Publications
Dupré's major works include:- Skyscrapers (1996, Black Dog & Leventhal; ISBN 9781884822452 / 2008, Black Dog & Leventhal; ISBN 1579127878)
- Bridges (1997). Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 9781884822759
- Churches (2001). HarperCollins. ISBN 0060194383
- Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory (2007). Random House. ISBN 9781400065820
- Full of Grace: Encountering Mary in Faith, Art and Life (forthcoming November 2010, Random House; ISBN 1400065852)
External links
- Monuments by Judith Dupré, Random House website
- Global Village Shelters: An Installation on Sterling Quad: Yale Daily News
- Gonzalez, Susan. “Divinity Student’s Books Pay Homage to Architectural Marvels", Yale Bulletin and Calendar, 36:27, April 25, 2008
- Dupré, Judith. “Notes on a Book Cover", Ancora Imparo, December, 2009
- Remembrance at Five: The Media's Impact on Contemporary America Commemoration, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota, Oct.2008