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  • Projects
    • Angkor Wat
    • The Animal Book
    • Just One More
    • muse
    • seaside magic
    • Springtime in Byzantium
  • Portfolio
    • Design
    • Exhibition
    • Music
    • Performance
    • Photography
    • Video
      • All videos
    • Writing
  • Blog
    • Studio News
    • Behind-the-Scenes
    • Conversations
    • Roundups
    • Showcases
    • Notes from luke kurtis
  • Shop
    • Artists’ Books
    • Poetry Books
    • Zines
    • Music
    • Postcards and Prints
    • Wears and Wares
    • etc.
  • About
    • Artists
    • Press Room
    • Bibliography
    • Submissions
  • Contact
    • Mailing List

Celebrating five years of collaboration

  • 21 Nov 2022/
  • Posted By : bd-studios.com/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Studio News

When Dudgrick Bevins and luke kurtis met in NYC in the mid-2010s and discovered they were originally from the same area of northwest Georgia, they knew an eventual collaboration would make sense. Both were born in the same town, though from different generations. Both made art based on their upbringing in rural Appalachia. Both knew what it was like to be rejected by family, friends, and their communities. The resulting collaboration was a 2017 chapbook titled Georgia Dusk, followed by more books by Bevins and edited/designed by kurtis.

Five years later, both the lives of these artists and the world at large have evolved. But the spirit of their collaboration remains the same. The pair came together to record their poetry just before the pandemic. kurtis later composed the accompanying music. And here we are—five years since the original book—with a spoken word EP celebrating the artists, who they were then, who they are now, and who they are becoming. After all, a life well lived and art well made is in continual transformation.

Please enjoy the Georgia Dusk EP (and the book, too if you never picked it up).


cyberspace and the sea

  • 03 Jun 2022/
  • Posted By : luke kurtis/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Studio News

I had gone away to spend some time out of the city. We booked a house near the sea because it seemed like a relaxing spot. The goal was to disconnect for a while, spend less time looking at screens all day. I took some creative supplies with me, markers and pencils and such, with the vague idea of, should inspiration strike, being creative in an analog way. And, of course, making photos. But I had no grand plan. I didn’t intend to develop a new project. So this is definitely a case of the work finding me instead of me finding it.

The drawings, poems, and photos I made essentially describe my experience that week. I’m literally talking about hanging out by the beach for a few days, trying to recover from a stressful time. On the surface, it’s not so profound. But it’s the mundanity that makes it relatable. I used that simplicity to tap into the subconscious.

After I got back home and realized I had created all this stuff, I wondered what I might do with it. I put together the video art and designed an experience meant to be seen in person, projected in a dark room with surround sound. I even set up a small screen prototype. The work created exactly the immersive and meditative environment I was going for. But given the pandemic, trying to plan an in-person exhibition didn’t feel right. So I began to consider what I could do digitally.

Three monitors showing the seaside magic video art by luke kurtis are the only source of light in the room.
small screen seaside magic video installation prototype

I’ve always been more comfortable in cyberspace, so it’s sort of odd I never did a digital exhibition before. But the pandemic has changed the ways we connect. Besides, I’ve always been somewhat reclusive and find it challenging to communicate with people in person, making digital spaces more effective. So, I hope other people are more open to this way of connecting than they might have been in the past.

It would be easy to think of an online exhibition as an inferior substitute for something else. But I don’t feel that way about this at all. In fact, I’m excited that I can beam this work into your home, no matter where you are in the world.

Please join me and explore seaside magic from your corner of cyberspace. I hope you will approach it with intention and feel the same sense of calm that I felt while making it.


Anastasia Walker’s poetry is a meditation on community, history, nature 🌿

  • 03 Feb 2022/
  • Posted By : luke kurtis/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Studio News
Photo of the poetry book The Girl Who Wasn't and Is by Anastasia Walker

We’re excited to tell you about the newest title in our ongoing series of poetry books. The Girl Who Wasn’t and Is is the debut collection by trans poet Anastasia Walker. Anastasia is a phenomenal poet with almost obsessive attention to detail that informs every word, syllable, and punctuation mark to the point that her poems are bolted together with architectural precision. Her photographs of the natural world and other surroundings, by contrast, are loose and free, the perfect pairing.

Often deeply personal, Anastasia’s poems explore not only her identity as a transgender woman but also her relationships with her family, the experiences of friends and allies, as well as her community’s ongoing quest for justice and dignity.

Read More

The delicate dance of nature awakening

  • 03 Jun 2021/
  • Posted By : luke kurtis/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Studio News
Photograph of interior of San Vitaly, from Springtime in Byzantium by luke kurtis
Photograph from Springtime in Byzantium by luke kurtis
How to see art and architecture without leaving home

I’m so excited to tell you about my newest project, Springtime in Byzantium. This book was initially scheduled for release last year but was delayed by the pandemic, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed me to take the project to the next level. It’s what happens when you give an artist more time—we’re bound to come up with another idea! (That’s not always a good thing for editors, but when you are the editor… well, that’s the way things go).

So this announcement is not only about the new book but also a new postcard set and three prints featuring new designs based on photos from the book.

This project has been many years in development and is near and dear to my heart. It’s a bit different from what I’ve published before. It’s also the first title by me in the bd Artists’ Books collection. Up until now, I’ve focused on my role as editor and designer of the series. But now, I am joining the ranks to give you something of my own.

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Poetry, publishing, and life two decades in the making

  • 26 Sep 2020/
  • Posted By : luke kurtis/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Studio News
contact sheet
Contact sheet of luke kurtis author photos by Carl Sturmer, shot for the original like an angel dead in your arms release in 2000

Twenty years ago this month, I published my first book, like an angel dead in your arms. It was a flawed collection. And really, what else could it be? I wrote much of it while I was still in high school. The book’s imperfection and immaturity are why I distanced myself from it over the years. But a few years back, when I realized the twentieth anniversary was coming up, I challenged myself to reconsider it. When I re-read it, I found, certain shortcomings aside, it was a pretty solid piece of work with strong conceptual underpinnings. I managed to pull together a pile of words that simultaneously shared my experiences as a young gay person rejected by his family and the ensuing struggles with identity, self-worth, romance, and religion, and combined it all with a poetic sense of imagination.

Read More

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  • Springtime in Byzantium $20.00
  • seaside magic flip flops $19.00
  • Vigil $20.00
  • seaside magic beach towel - white $35.00
  • seaside magic swim trunks - teal $35.00

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bd-studios.com is the art and publishing studio by luke kurtis. We publish artists’ and poetry books, organize exhibitions and performances, and more. We perform creative experiments and transform them into bold works of art. Learn more about what we do.

From the blog
  • Night time photo of a house surrounded by trees with lights coming from the windows but everything around it is dark and stars fill the sky
    Celebrating five years of collaboration November 21,2022
  • Photo of the poetry book The Girl Who Wasn't and Is by Anastasia Walker
    Anastasia Walker on selfies, seasons, and swimming in the ocean 🤳🍃🌊 July 19,2022
  • sailboats resting on very still water that is almost the same color as the sky, creating the illusion of no horizon
    cyberspace and the sea June 3,2022
From the Shop
  • the immeasurable fold: selected poems 2000—2015 $18.00
  • photo of an abstract print by luke kurtis marble painting (print #1) $40.00
  • seaside magic beach towel - white $35.00
  • "quilt" zine cover quilt
From l.k.'s photostream
Georgia Dusk
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