Karry Awn, Paradise of the Violet Crown (Visa del Sur), Austin, nd

My mate Scott Macleod just relocated with his partner from their longtime home in Oakland to Austin, Texas, and as can be seen from this accordion he sent me he's settling into his new environs. As the cover asserts this accordion reproduces Awn's mural which tells the story of the city of Austin, with lots more detailed information on the reverse.

10 double-sided pages, individually 5" x 3.75", and when unfolded 3ft 1.5".

reverse side with info about mural's subjects

back cover

Anette Aurell, Untitled (exhibit announcement), Colette Gallery & Paul Ritter Design, New York, 1997

With a sharp layout by Paul Ritter Design, this accordion strip of perforated postcards constitutes the announcement card for an exhibition of Aurell's photographic works between May 12 - 31, 1997.

6 double-sided pages, individually 5.75" x 4.25" and when fully opened 2ft 1.5".

  

Reverse side

Rachel Whiteread, Luhring Augustine Tribeca, New York, March 10 - April 22, 2023

A really clean and elegant accordion exhibition catalogue featuring some recent work by Brit artist Rachel Whiteread - famous for her sculpture titled "House", 1993. A short text by Mohammed Sami is included in this catalogue.

5 double-sided pages, individual pages 8.75" x 5.5" and when fully open 2ft 3.5".

reverse

back cover

Nico Lootsma, 8 candy wrappers found in amsterdam, 2022, ed. 10

                                        

Lootsma is an Amsterdam based conceptual artist who is rumoured to have a Shoebox gallery. 

6 single sided pages, individual pages 3.5" x 3.5" and when fully open 21 inches.

Karl Young, sub super cross and inter linear to...., nd

A rather simple looking letter-sized piece of paper folded four times that belies the complex construction of this language/text work and the different ways it can be read. With texts on each page that require the reader to read it both vertically as well as rotating it to the right and the left in order to read the texts printed along these two axis.  Additionally, the perforations on the back and the reproductions of postage stamps on the front make explicit the works connection to communication and networking.

Karl Young (1947-2017) was an important poet, printer, publisher, writer, co-founder of Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee, editor of Kaldron (1976-1990) an early journal of visual poetry and language art, amongst many other accomplishments in the field of visual poetry and beyond.

5 pages, double-sided, individual 8"x2.25" and when fully opened 11.25".

reverse side with texts to be read in the mirror

LL'Editions: The Leporello Series: #6: Maurizio Nannucci, #8: Jonathan Monk, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2022

The Leporello Series is a really smart series of artists' accordions published by the Swedish LL'Editions. Inhabiting a space between the book and paper sculpture, the leporellos are printed on delicate Mohawk Eggshell paper. Each volume in the series is limited to 250 numbered copies and come in a bespoke rigid box, with the title hot foiled both onto its front and its spine, allowing it to sit comfortably in a bookshelf when not on display. [from publisher's statement]

For The Leporello Series, LL'Editions has been inviting a select group of international artists to contribute. Each artist is given carte blanche, restricted only by the accordion format and its ten panels. Previous issues featured the following artists: #1: Heimo Zobering, #2: Micah Lexier, #3: Fiona Banner, #4: Ryan Gander, 2021. Here's a link to 4 other LL'Editions in this blog: LL'Editions: The Leporello Series, #1: Heimo Zobering, #2: Micah Lexier, #3: Fiona Banner, #4: Ryan Gander, 2021- , Gothenburg, Sweden

                     Leporello #6, Maurizio Nannucci, 2022

This is a curious work by this Italian contemporary artist known for his photography, video, neon & sound installations, artists' books and more broadly his conceptual and concrete poetry language practice. This text work with its doubling effect and its circularity left me feeling unsatisfied, coupled with the sense that Nannucci had missed an opportunity to create something much more engaging with the accordion's wonderful format.

10 single-sided pages, individual pages 5.5" x 4", when opened 3' 4"

upside down view

back of the box

              Leporello #8, Jonathan Monk, 2022

Brit appropriationist and concept artist gives us his sly interpretation of the iconic artists' accordion book — Edward Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966). The original featured images taken from a car of both sides of this historical 'strip' printed at the top and bottom of the accordion with a large white space between them indicating the space of the road coupled with the street numbers of each building.  Monk in this leporello gives us only one side of the street accompanied with the street numbers for both and then he reveals that he shot this work from the original accordion "...with an iPhone 12 in pano mode." This piece makes me smile. 

Check out Monk's other works on this site — People Looking at Art (2021) is a good one to start with: accordion publications: Jonathan Monk, People Looking at Art, Fifth Syllable, UK, 2021, ed. 50

10 single-sided pages, individual pages 5.5" x 4", when opened 3' 4"

back of the box

Leporello #12-22, Arena-Dottir, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2009

the boxed set

A boxed set of 11 accordions/leporellos published by Leporello a marketing agency based in Copenhagen with each work being a collaboration between members of the Danish art and literary scenes. Although I could find no further information about these collaborations, I'm assuming the visual artists did the front and a writer contributed the texts that are typically on the reverse side. I have previously reviewed the first edition of this publication featuring #1-11 (2005) [see: Thomas Seest (ed), Leporello #1 - 11].

For more information about Leporello ("Leporello Business Solutions, We call it B.S. for a reason"), see: leporello.dk

The leporellos address all sorts of different subject matter, however I was not able to understand the Danish texts, so for me I could only experience the visual aspect of each accordion and their quality seemed to fluctuate somewhat. Nevertheless, this is a worthy project and anything that promotes collaboration between different sectors of the art community interests me!

Each accordion is comprised of 12 double-side pages, with individual pages measuring 4" x 3", and when fully opened the leporellos are 3 feet long.

note: click on images for larger versions

the eleven leporellos

#12: Nina Sos Vinther/Thomas Andersen

#13: Lars Skinnebach/Kristin Eiriksdottir

#14: Aleksa Okanovic/Birgitta Lund

#15: Christina Wendelboe/Ebbe Stub Wittrup

#16: One Horslev/Kasper Bonnen

#17: Maria Wandel/Martin Larsen

#18: Lars Frost/Rose Eken

#19: Seimi Norregaard/Morten Schelde

#20: Morten Sokilde/Trine Boesen

#21: Helle Hojland/Thomas Seest

#22: Lene Andersen/Ulrik Heltoft