Art Book Launch: M.M.M. by Ilona Pachler
On August 2, 2025, Minerva Projects and Ramsdell Library invite the public to the launch of M. M. M., an innovative new artist book by Ilona Pachler. This special event will include a reading by the author, an artist talk, and an audience-led discussion exploring mythology,
language, feminist storytelling, and the life of books as both object and idea.
Presented in the historic Ramsdell Library in Housatonic—part of the Great Barrington Libraries—this event celebrates the convergence of literature, art, and community dialogue. A cultural landmark since 1908, Ramsdell Library has long served as a hub for creative exchange, deeply rooted in the Berkshire region’s vibrant literary and artistic life. Its intimate setting offers the ideal backdrop for a book that invites its readers to quite literally enter a labyrinth.
“M. M. M.”—short for Medea, Medusa, and the Minotaur—reimagines classical mythological figures through a feminist and deeply personal lens. Pachler, an Austrian-born artist now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, uses poetic essays, ephemeral installations, and photography to challenge traditional narratives that vilify or obscure feminine power. Her book’s structure mirrors its conceptual heart: unbound pages that invite tactile engagement, reflection, and reinterpretation. Readers are encouraged not only to handle the pages but to write in them, reshaping meaning through their own language.
This artist book, created in close collaboration with designer Eva Chang, is being released in a limited first edition, emphasizing its handcrafted, intimate nature. Future trade editions are planned—but with open questions. As Pachler asks: What is gained when a handmade object becomes reproducible? And what is lost?
These themes will be explored in conversation with Jamie Nicholson, Director of Programs at the Great Barrington Library, who will moderate a Q&A and community dialogue following the reading. Nicholson, a longtime advocate for feminist publishing and experimental forms, will guide the audience through the ethical, material, and imaginative implications of artist books like M. M. M. Pachler’s practice straddles fine art, literature, and craft. A textile conservator by training, her installations—often built in her studio, then dismantled and recycled—exist primarily as photographic records. Her writing, composed in English as a learned language, adds another layer of complexity and curiosity to her work. Through M. M. M., she opens space for readers to consider how language, especially when acquired later in life, becomes an act of invention and resistance.
Minerva Projects, the independent press behind M. M. M., is committed to feminist publishing and the belief that language is a central extension of visual art. Their gatherings foster dialogue, challenge dominant narratives, and invite new perspectives on power, history, and the social fabric. This launch will not be a traditional author talk but a shared exploration—where readers, artists, and thinkers gather around the “publishing table,” engaging in questions of form, meaning, and collective authorship. What shape will the next edition of M. M. M. take? That’s a conversation to be had together.
This artist book has been made possible by significant support from Irene Hofman, Kristina Van Dyke Fort, Elysia Solomon, and Betty Chen.
Refreshments provided: please register so we know how much to provide.
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