• Courtesy Of The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
• "A Show of Hands" by Marcia Vogler

In the media coverage of today's fervid culture wars, the word "book" frequently appears with the word "banned" — an abhorrent shotgun wedding of associations. But the artists in a current exhibit at Burlington's S.P.A.C.E. Gallery ignore the political fray, in effect shelving hate, fear and intolerance and putting remarkable creativity on display.

"The Art of the Book" is just what it sounds like. Some 30 artists — members of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and others who responded to an open call — contributed artwork that modifies or incorporates book covers and pages, or mimics the form of a book with other mediums. Many of the pieces illustrate mad skills in cutting and folding.

The accordion fold is recurrent in book art, and this exhibit is no exception. Ann Joppe-Mercure's "Rhythm and Space," made of paste paper in flowing blue and green patterns, opens into an elegant, architectonic sculpture. Rebecca Boardman stitched together tiny collaged papers in zigzag fashion to make the charming "Nursery Rhymes." In Dorsey Hogg's ingenious "Words Can Be Unruly," the pages of a discarded dictionary are cut in a way that makes them spring out of the book like Slinkies.

• Courtesy Of The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
• "Wait" by Susan Smereka

Some actual books meet a surprising end, such as in "Atomic Bomb" by Heather Stearns. The wall-hung red cover is splayed open to reveal adjacent dictionary pages; the title words appear at top left. The rest of the paper is carefully burned and looks indeed like a mini explosion.

Sharon Webster turns books into framed mixed-media compositions. "Medallion" features a charcoal-colored cover, opened so that the spine is a central column in the design. Around this she stitched and pinned teal fabric, gold lace and ribbon. The book's curiously redundant title: Shadows in the Dusk. It was likely not a random choice: An online search turned up a 1955 novel by John Jennings about a bloody battle in 1837 between white men and Apache in a scorching desert.

Some of these artworks are topical after all.

There is also Marcia Vogler's installation "A Show of Hands," a veritable pop-up book in support of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Opened, it displays seven tiers of paper hands in a spectrum of skin tones that are cut and folded into power-to-the-people fists. An auxiliary "book" explains how the United Nations' declaration came about in 1948.

• Courtesy Of The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
• "Chemo Kitchen" by Erin Bundock

Erin Bundock's pop-up creation is next level. When closed, "Chemo Kitchen" resembles a diary-size book with a floral cover. Opened, it is a 3D kitchen with four walls and a floor and contains a stove, a table and a person. Bundock amply illustrates the nifty skill of planning ahead.

A book-arts exhibition would not be complete without made-from-scratch books that open to reveal more artwork. Printmaker and collage artist Susan Smereka obliges with two small books, "Wait" and "Night Springs," whose pages are entirely abstract black-and-white prints with minimal collaged text.

Nancy Stone goes to gorgeous lengths with cut white paper designs within black binding. Her series "Ecclesiastes III" comprises 13 volumes, as it were, each of which is incised with a snippet from the "To every thing there is a season..." biblical text. Pete Seeger borrowed the words in 1959 to write "Turn! Turn! Turn!" The Byrds popularized the song in 1965.

• Courtesy Of The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
• "Embrace Eclosion" by Nikki Laxar

Nikki Laxar's "Embrace Eclosion" is a sweet assemblage of cut paper and a gentle suggestion. An opened book rests on a petite stand; pages cut in small strips form a wordy nest from which a butterfly emerges. Small paper arms hug the remnant chrysalis. Eclosion is the act of emerging.

"The Art of the Book" is on view through August 4, with a closing reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Learn more at spacegalleryvt.com and bookartsguildvt.com.