Project Details

Ex Libris ExChange

Short Description and Goal

Ex Libris ExChange is an international collaborative art project. The project includes 26 artists – 13 from each city who have created original Artists’ Books and artful maps based on a common theme. The thematic content of the artwork was inspired by an elaborately illustrated 18th century journal created by Georg Daniel Flor, a member of a French brigade that participated in the American Revolutionary War. The artists have produced highly imaginative works using 21st century techniques to engage with the voice and aesthetic of an ordinary soldier with an extraordinary talent.

Detailed Description

In 1776, the American colonies began their fight for life, liberty, and justice, a battle that was fought and won with tremendous support from overseas allies. The French in particular were angered by the expanding British empire and they helped the colonies to realize the first American Dream – independence.

Georg Daniel Flohr was a 20-year-old soldier in the French regiment, the Royal-Deux-Ponts, commanded by General Rochambeau. Although he had little formal education, Flohr immediately began recording his observations about everyday life in the New World with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Fascinated by Native Americans, the role of slaves in the economy, and “dating protocol,” Flohr became an unwitting documentarian and evolved into an amateur sociologist and naturalist. He wrote very little about the war itself, leaving that that to the Generals.

After his tour of duty, Flohr spent two years in Strasbourg creating a 250-page journal with meticulous 18th century script and 30 watercolor paintings based on his field notes and sketches. Scholars at the Médiathèque André Malraux [library], where the journal now resides, have determined that Flohr enhanced his journal with historical and botanical research. His words and illustrations provide us with a series of snapshots from the period and were used by the US National Park Service to plan Colonial Williamsburg.

The Médiathèque in Strasbourg discovered the journal and recognized immediately that Flohr would be the perfect catalyst for an international artist’s book project. When the proposal for a dual city exhibit was accepted by the Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association and Alsace Etats-Unis, The Ex Libris Exchange project was born.

Artists from Boston and Strasbourg were invited to participate in the exchange. After receiving a set of scans, and an annotated translation of the journal, each artist embarked on an individual voyage to create a book and poster inspired by Georg Daniel Flohr. The artists delved into topics that Flohr’s work introduced or implied including patriotism and ex-patriotism, travel, and meditations on a life as a journey. They used etching, wood cut, image transfer, letter press, collage, photography and painting to engage with a voice from the past.

Georg Daniel Flohr’s legacy has resonance for all, but particularly for artists, who are among the world’s observers, chroniclers, and correspondents. This exchange seeks to celebrate these traditions.

Exhibitions of the books and accompanying maps happened in Boston in October-November, 2016, and in Strasbourg in April-June, 2017.

Initiated by

  • Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association
  • Alsace Etats-Unis

Initiators are

• Public institution

Project Website(s)

Project Topics

Arts & Culture, Heritage

Level / Project Complexity /

Small

Participating Cities

  • Boston, USA
  • Strasbourg, France

Sizes of Participating Cities

• 20.000 - 100.000
• 500.000 - 1,5 Mio

Participating Countries

  • USA
  • France

Project Region(s)

• Europe
• North America

Media Credits

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash