Ladislav R. Hanka Book Art's Archive

The Ladislav R. Hanka Book Art's Archive centers on the artist Ladislav R. Hanka (1952- ) a former graduate of WMU and local resident of the city of Kalamazoo. Mr. Hanka's art is primarily concerned with the flora and fauna of forests and lakes. His educational background in biology and zoology reflects his artistic interests. He received a BA in Biology from Kalamazoo College (1975), an MS in Zoology from Colorado State University (1979), and an MFA in Printmaking from Western Michigan University (1981). In addition, Mr. Hanka was a guest student at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universitat in Bonn, Germany (1973) and at the Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Austria (1979-1980). He also served a private apprenticeship in Prague with Jindra Schmidt, master engraver of stamps and currency (1979).

Mr. Hanka has had a number of traveling exhibitions including: Visions of a Wandering Naturalist (1997-2001), 50 x 25 Book Arts Exhibit (1993-1999), Boreal Meditations (1995), and County Survey (1989-2001) to name a few. His art may be found at the Fogg Museum of Art in Cambridge, MA., the Princeton University Print Collection in Princeton, NJ, the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. His work may also been seen abroad at the National Museum (Prague, Czech Republic), the British Library (London, Great Britain), the Rembrandt House (Amsterdam, Netherlands), The Bookplate Society (Eubonne, France), Huang Zhe Temple (Sichuan Province, China), Jatson Chumig Speical School (Lhasa, Tibet), and at the Graphic Arts Institute and Francisco Toledo Museum (Oaxaca, Mexico).

The archive consists of correspondence between Mr. Hanka and corresponding writers and publishers, sketches, trials, artist's proofs and numbered copies of his art, reviews of shows, exhibition booklets, and hand-bound volumes of his books printed under the imprint of the Rarach Press. Book titles written and/or illustrated by Mr. Hanka include:

Opus Salvelinus by L.R. Hanka (1990), County Survey by L.R. Hanka (1989), Heilige, Svati, Saints by Rainer Maria Rilke, wood engravings by L.R. Hanka (1987), Pavlov by Richard Neugebaur, wood engravings by L.R. Hanka (1986), Agricultural Notations by L.R. Hanka (1984), Iowa Couplets by Wendy Popkes, illustrated by L.R. Hanka (1982),

The Frog Prints by L.R. Hanka (1982), Certuv Kamen (Devil's Rock) by Richard Neugebauer, wood engravings by L.R. Hanka (1981), and Leaves of Organic Verse (Scripta Naturae) by L.R. Hanka (1981).

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