A Place for Memory:
Where Art and Science Meet
A Place for Memory: Where Art and Science Meet, is both an art book
and a book designed to underscore our human potential for creativity. Moss-Vreeland takes us on a visual journey beyond a text- based only experience. The artist reveals through evocative images and poetic text the relationships between creativity, learning, brain function and memory.
Testimonials
I have been reading your wonderful book, A Place for Memory
and I learned a lot at your presentation at the Pine Street Salon,
DesignPhiladelphia. I thought to myself how nice that you wrote
a book because it would help me to understand memory better.
I always want to improve my memory because my memory is
rather poor.
I thought memory was static. Reading your book, I realized that
it is not only dynamic, but also a part of the creative process. I
like so much how your words and images correlate to each other
in such informative, explorative, and evocative ways. The
typography of each page is very inventive with the change of colors,
sizes, and designs of the text. Now the words provide not only
meaning but also some sense of space that allows remembrance to
emerge. I also so appreciate how your theme designs are used
throughout the book so that not only each page stands on its own,
but also the whole book feels like an organic whole. When I look
through the book at different times, I sense different responses and
feelings emerging. Indeed, you have given a precious gift to the world.
Thank you.
Lily Yeh, Artist, Founder and Director, Barefoot Artists
Was just looking at your book!
As a college professor and a writer, I am always encouraging my
students to see themselves as creative beings and to be aware of the
“stories” they create about themselves. Your beautiful book, A Place
for Memory, inspired me to think in a new way about how we can all
use memory and images as a starting point to tap into our creative
energy and to also revisit these “stories” and engage with them on a
new level. This is a book that is on my desk and that I return to again
and again for creative nourishment. Thank you so much for sharing
your truly insightful vision of art, memory and creativity.
Susan Magee, MFA, Instructor of Communication, Drexel University
A Place for Memory is a book to savor. The beautiful artwork alone may tempt
one to enjoy the book for the visual impact and what that evokes. But quiet,
careful reading and rereading will yield an even richer experience. The
repetitions and expansions bring to mind a complex piece of music, with the
pieces of art paralleling structure and function in the brain.
The book also begs to be considered by a group, from a neighborhood book
club, to the elderly and those working with them, to a therapeutic support group.
It is a natural basis for a course where memory and mind matter--
at an art school, yoga/mediation group, or creative writing workshop.
Susan M. Huntington, Ph.D., Psychologist
Your book is fabulous! I don't think that words are adequate to describe
the experience of it. And I am an English teacher. But I felt like the book
provided an experience that transcended reading. Not only was it
gorgeous and delightful, it engaged me in a way where I was using all my
senses and emotions as well as my cognition. It activated my personal
memories at the same time as it made me think about memory. It made
me see and think in new ways, which is an exhilarating experience. You
are amazing in that you create with images and words. I think your
book will be spectacularly successful!
Dolores Verdeur, Upper School English, Agnes Irwin School
Patricia Moss-Vreeland has written a remarkable pictorial book on memory
focused on the interaction between art and science. It is a phenomenally
creative and evocative work in my opinion.
Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, M.D. Titus H. Harris Chair Harry K. Davis Professor
and Chairperson Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
University of Texas Medical Branch
Your publication and presentation were inspiring and I was pleased to see your
book, visual images and read about your ideas so eloquently presented.
The concepts covered in your publication are significant and thought provoking.
Diane Pepe, Artist, Associate Professor of Art, College of Art, Media and Design,
University of the Arts
Thank you for your gorgeous book. I love the notion that through memory
we all become creators. Congratulations for imagining such a complex
project and fulfilling it.
Hilary Jay, Director, Philadelphia Center for Architecture
A Place for Memory is a place for people. Like our own memories,
it reads from any point, going backwards or forwards, jumping,
connecting, skipping, and singing through the pages. It blends formal
and informal, cognitive, associative, aesthetic, improvisational, intentional,
visual, subliminal, linear ways of knowing. And it keeps growing as I read
and reread the visual thoughts and word thoughts forming a fabric in
pages that seem to turn by themselves. I’m astounded by the work and
thought and grasp that has gone into creating something that seems so
seamless from the mind and heart of Patricia Moss-Vreeland.
What a gift. What a work. Thank you.
Jeff Harlan, Poet, Teacher, Founder of the International Dream Flag Project Poetry Collective.
A Place for Memory is wonderful! I found myself reflecting upon a variety of past
events in new ways. It made me wonder how this could be helpful to address the
issues of trauma that so many people experience. The ever- changing nature of
memory is so clearly illustrated as one reads and sees and feels the book. The
opportunity to reflect in a thoughtful way is very healing. I look forward to
sharing it with my friends and colleagues. Thank you for creating this work of art.
Nancy Wieman, Deputy Administrator for Mental Health Services Montgomery County
On your lovely book, congratulations again: It is an artist's book--
a digitally printed multiple as opposed to a handcrafted one which is often
associated with that term. The presentation of the content is abstract and
experiential which makes the book quite concrete: it does what it is about, or,
is what it is describing. The repetition of and variations on certain images and
words create a memory for the reader. Very cool. It seems like the book would
be an excellent educational tool, with a compelling blend of scientific information
and abstract (as opposed to literal) illustration of the ideas.
Constance Old, Artist and Writer