Catherine Gass

Catherine Gass serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Photography Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She maintains a concurrent position as a Photographer at The Newberry Library, demonstrating her dual commitment to academic instruction and professional practice in the visual arts.

Her educational background includes a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1995) and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1997). This foundation at SAIC has clearly informed her ongoing relationship with the institution as both an alumna and faculty member.

Gass's research interests center on the complex relationship between text and image, particularly as manifested in book arts and material culture. Her work explores how photographic media interacts with written language, examining both the physicality of books and the conceptual frameworks that govern our understanding of visual and textual communication. She investigates how damage to books—whether from insects, water, fire, or human intervention—reveals historical narratives and cultural practices. Her theoretical approach incorporates semiotics, post-structuralism, and postmodern theory, which she integrates into her teaching through hands-on learning exercises designed to make complex theoretical concepts accessible to art students.

Her photographic publications and exhibitions demonstrate a consistent focus on the materiality of books and the traces of human interaction with textual objects. The Infestations series documents patterns of damage in books, while Faulty Diction explores the relationship between sport trophy figures and books, questioning authority and language construction.

• 2003 CAAP Grant
• 2002 Illinois Arts Council Assistance Grant

Gass approaches teaching as a collaborative, risk-taking environment where vulnerability and artistic intimacy are crucial to learning. She emphasizes developing students' visual and verbal thinking skills, helping them articulate their ideas while providing a strong technical foundation in photography. Her curriculum includes foundational courses like Introduction to Photographic Image Making, which prepares students for advanced study through technical skill development and critical analysis of photography's role in culture.

Her work at The Newberry Library as a photographer complements her academic role, providing a professional context for her exploration of manuscripts and book arts. Through her publications like A Field Guide to the North American Family and Introduction to Manuscript Studies, she bridges academic scholarship with creative practice, examining how visual and textual elements combine to construct meaning.