James Turrell, Kijkduin: Celestial Vault Panorama in the Dunes, Stroom Den Haag, The Hague, 2020

A small accordion catalogue that includes photographic documentation and a brief explanation about this wonderful 1996 earthwork by the well-known American earth artist James Turrell and the directions for viewing this work in the dunes outside of The Hague, Netherlands.

The work consists of a bowl shaped ellipse with walls approximately 5 metres high and 30 metres wide & 40 metres long. In the center of this artificial crater is a large bench on which visitors are encouraged to lay with their heads looking towards the sky. A little further up, on the top of a slightly higher dune, is a similar bench. 

The catalogue relates how "In the bowl of the dune, you can see how the sky is a dome that changes shape. Along the carefully calculated bank of the slope, the eye is irresistibly drawn upward and you feel the nearness of the sky as though you could actually touch it. You notice how the space seems to bend into a dome that rests on the edges of the bowl...outside of the crater...you realize, perhaps for the first time, that the sky you are familiar with actually has a form. It is not infinite space that you see, but a finite vault."

Turrell constructed this piece after reading the work of the Dutch astronomer Marcel Minnaert (1893-1970) who wrote extensively about this phenomenon in his book 'Light and Colour in the Open Air' (1937). Minnaert found that the dome-like appearance was determined by the position of the head, and although "...he was unable to find a physical explanation for this. His conclusion was that this must be a psychological phenomenon: the form of the sky is the result of your own observation."

6 double-sided pages, individual pages 8.25" x 3.5" and when fully opened 1ft 10 inches.

reverse side 

back cover

Martoz (Alessandro Martorelli), Cigarette Break, Inuit Edizioni, Bologna, Italy, 2014,

cover

cover with accordion

A really compelling panoramic drawing with a scratchy street aesthetic that has been folded down into nine pages by this well respected Italian illustrator and comic book artist. The following brief review of this accordion from lucca comics & games (Italy) sums it up fairly well, "The chaotic adventures of a charming lady to the rhythm of a frenetic blues that transforms into a whirlwind of provocative glances, stray cats and liters of caffeine. All consumed in the short space of a cigarette break."

9 double-sided pages, individual pages 11" x 4.5", and when opened 3ft 4.5".

back

Anne Laval, La Vie En Rose Fluo (La Vita in Rose Fluo), Inuit Editions, Bologna, Italy, 2018

This is just a really beautiful accordion with wonderful illustrations all wrapped together with a sense of humor and wonder. Laval studied illustration at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, France and has the following to say about how this Riso & silkscreen book came about. 

"In May 2016 I went to Bologna for an artistic residency at the Botanical Garden, and for two weeks that was my atelier. I scattered crayons. I camped inside the dry tropical greenhouse and discovered a thousand different varieties of cacti. I crossed the city on a bike and I lived with a giant wardrobe. I tamed the three gardeners and I ate an ice cream every day. And most of all I did draw."

10 single-sided pages, individually 4" x 6.5" and when opened 5ft 5".

back cover with pink plastic band

 

Teke Cocina and Aaron Krach, Bulges and Hunks, Brooklyn, New York, 2022, ed. 20

cover with wrap

A funky collaborative accordion by two artists who both trained and now teach at Parsons School of Design in New York. Two features of this accordion makes it interesting for me, firstly I rarely come across accordions created collaboratively and secondly there's a really rich combination of media that went into its creation with Krach describing using "...screen-printing, spray-paint and stencils, Citrisolve prints, stickers, sewing, collage, rubbing and rubber stamps."

Accompanying this accordion's sales listing on the Printed Matter website is the following quote from Krach that explains something of the occasion and process behind the creation of this accordion:

"Overlapping interests. That's a good way of describing how teke and I have remained friends. Books and printmaking are two key elements in the Venn diagram of our artistic and personal interests. This is our first official collaboration. We each took folios of pages home to apply our own "first layer." Then we met and traded, and added another layer on top. The results surprised us; some pages obviously complimentary and others our work more assertively fights for top-billing. Except no one loses. Respect and mutual admiration (for each other) and for styles and artists, writers and mediums delivers a unique book that tells a story of us, now. A wonderful collaboration..."

I'd be interested to see the results of any further collaborations between these two artists!

12 double-sided pages, individually 6.5" x 4.5", and when fully open 4ft 6".

cover page

reverse side

back cover 

Stephen Gill, A Series of Disappointments, Nobody and the Archive of Modern Conflict, UK, 2008, ed. 3000 [3 different covers]

I'm going to let this Brit artist who became interested in photography in early childhood because of his father's fascination with insects, explain what this humorous and quietly philosophical book is all about and how to exhibit it.

"These betting slips were discarded in and around many betting shops (71 at the time of publication) in the borough of Hackney in north-east London. The average number of betting shops in other London boroughs is 23.

Each of these papers began as hope, were shaped by loss or defeat, then cast aside. These new forms perhaps now possess a state of mind, shaped by nervous tension and grief.

After these images were made, little autopsies were performed on the papers to reveal the failed bets held within.

If betting shops move into places previously occupied by banks or solicitors, they are classed as financial services and dont have to apply for any special permit. In such numbers, they are beginning to feel like a burden around a borough that is trying to improve itself and the lives of its residents, and to shake off its bad reputation.

To exhibit this book, remove the book block from the outer cover, expand the pages and hang from nails or small hooks using the holes provided."

36 single-sided pages, individually 11.75" x 9", and fully opened 27ft.

back cover (one of 3 different ones)

Picasso Gaglione, A Bag Accordian Book, Knoxville, 2022

Another in the wild series of accordions that Knoxville-based mail artist and dadaist Picasso Gaglione has sent me over the last year or so.  A quick search of this blog will reveal 9 other accordions he's created using all sorts of different and readily available media. This work was created within a similar aesthetic and the simplest of materials — in this case a rubber stamp and a small thin brown paper bag!

4 pages, individually 3" x 2.5" and when fully open 10".

Antonio Ferrara, Ventiquattromila baci (Twenty four thousand kisses), Settenove edizioni, Cagli, Italy, 2021

Ferrara is an Italian writer, poet and illustrator and the winner of the 2015 Andersen Prize for another accordion book titled I Am Like This. This humorous accordion depicts kisses being exchanged by a host of different people and even animals! I particularly like how Ferrara has used the fold of the page as the crucial element that briefly separates the kissers as they are about to begin this amorous act.

22 double-side pages, individual pages 7.75" x 4.75", and when open 8ft 10.5".

reverse side

back cover