Carole King, Treeline, nd, [ed. 28/50] and, How to make a Concertina Book, 2014

Front

Back

Back cover

Treeline, nd 

I was in a small Welsh town called Crughywel that was deep in the countryside this summer, and stopped to check out a lively little art gallery and found these two accordions by this English book artist. I particularly like the concertina book on how to make a concertina book - way to go!

How to make a Concertina Book, 2014

Both books are 8 pages in length, and individual pages are 5.5" (h) x 3.75" (w), and when fully opened each book is 3ft 8 inches.

For further information about Carole King and her activities visit: 

http://www.nantdesigns.co.uk/index.html

Back

Pete Spence, Some Artefacts, Timglaset Editions, Sweden, 2016/17

Front

Back

A double-sided strip of 15 aphorisms from this down-under word rabble-rouser and published by Timglaset, a bilingual (Swedish/English) fanzine and publisher of handmade books of art and writing. I'll let their online blurb speak for this publication:

"If art and poetry is about making us see objects and concepts in a new light, then pete spence surely is a masterful poet. And a humorous one at that.

pete spence was born in Australia in 1946. He is a visual poet and writer. He has published numerous volumes of poetry, edited many magazines, curated exhibitions of visual poetry and participated in the mail art network for many years.

His latest collection of poetry is Red Duck (Accent Editions, 2016) and anyone who has received one of his colourful collage postcards should consider themselves blessed."

One of my favorites in this book is: 

Conceptual

you don't say


Measurements: 2.75" (h) x 2" (w) and extended 16.5". For info: timglaset.fanzine@mail.com or www. gimglaset.com

'Deirdre Kelly, 'A Walk Past Standing Stones' (after Richard Long), designed by Christopher Taylor, published by Wild Pansy Press, 2016 [ed. 200]

A funky little accordion that is an homage to Richard Long's 1980 accordion of the same name in which his subject matter was a series of photographs of standing stones that he had encountered during a day's walk in Cornwall, England in 1978. Kelly, who presently lives in Venice, Italy, pays homage by switching Long's stones with the weathered heads on the ballustrade of Venice's, Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel. Kelly writes that "these sculpted heads form part of the handrail or 'corrimano' which translates as 'running hand' of which this artists' book represents up and down."

My only slight quibble with this book is a formal and aesthetic one — the accordion strip is not flush with the cover at the bottom so that when the book is placed in the upright position it does not sit flat for the first couple of pages.

Individual pages 3.5" x 2 2/8" overall length 2 ft 2". Long's book is also featured elsewhere in this blog. For further information about Kelly's publications contact: www.wildpansypress.com or www.deirdrekelly.net.

Nancy Chalker-Tennant, Secret Wing, Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, 1991.

The folder for the accordion

The folder and the accordion

A curious melange of marks and images create a slightly frenetic feel to this double-sided accordion by Chalker-Tennant.

6 pages at 12"(h) x 5.5"(w). When opened up 2' 9".

Pete Gamlen, Den Magiske Bogstav, Tan & Loose Press, 2016 [ed. 300]

An intimate little double-sided accordion, with some sweet drawings that take the changing seasons as metaphors for the stages in relationships.

8 pages, 5.5"(h) x 4"(w). Fully open at 2' 8"  

Jean-Baptiste Bernadet, Fugue, Triangle Books, 2014 [ed. 500]

A really fascinating accordion that is made up of a sequence of 36 of Bernadette's Fugue paintings which he creates by building up short and different colored brushstrokes into a pleasantly hazy and indistinct surface.

36 pages, 8.75"(h) x 7.75"(w). Fully open at 23' 3".

Hsian Jung Chen, Food Pose, Nos:Books, Taiwan, 2016 [ed. 800]

This beautifully produced double-sided accordion is comprised on one side of images of the sleek & minimal food ceramics that Chen creates, and on the other a series of photographs of eccentric kitchen countertop sculptures that she made with different foods. The fact that this accordion is also a series of perforated postcards suggests an alternative manner in which this publication could be disseminated and appreciated.

11 pages at 7"(h) x 5"(w). Fully open at 4' 7". 

back cover

Sophie Arnold, The Kiss, New York City, 2016

I have not been able to find any information about this accordion/leporello. With its repeated image of a young man with two kisses on his face, coupled with the delicate covers and the red ribbon, it has the nostalgic feel of an album devoted to a lost, or unattainable, love. Or, it just could be, a masterly gender reversal of the 'traditional' definition of leporello, which traces the term to Don Juan's manservant, Leporello, who kept a folded list of his masters' conquests!

12 pages at 3.25"(h) x 2.5"(w). Fully opened at 30".

The back

Colin Finlay, 12 degrees N x 23 degrees E, Definitive Stories, 2007

A moving little double-sided accordion that highlights the plight of two quite distinct geographic locations, Sudan and Antarctica, and through its design forces the reader to encounter the different issues of warfare, famine, drought and global warming that are impacting both these places.

11 pages at 2.5"(h) x 3"(w). Fully opened at 33".