Sunday, June 8, 2014

Barcelona Skyline, no date.









Rosena Fung, Nemesis, no date.


Quirky screen printed accordion. Each page 6.25" (h) x 5" (w), open 4ft 2".



Back cover.


Fernando Lopes, Flag Book: Interaction towards a better world, Atlanta: Nexus Press, 1996

This book is an example of a "diamond fold" accordion, and here Lopes has incorporated 96 triangular pieces of flags from different countries who were competing in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. His hope for 'interaction' and maybe the disappearance of flags altogether is well taken.  Each page 4" (h) x 4" (w), open 3ft 3".




Rúna Thorkelsdóttir, 3 bookworks, 1988-2013


Rúna Thorkelsdóttir is an artist, originally from Iceland, now a long time resident of the Netherlands and a partner in the great artists' bookstore, Boekie Woekie (Amsterdam). I asked 
Rúna to comment on these three accordion books of hers and her replies are below:

Barcycling (1988)
I was already making books when I sat in a cafe with friends at a big wooden table. As those wet rings from the glasses added on the table I started to play and made the barcycling drawing in the wetness. Later I made it with ink on a paper-plate and printed the bar cycling booklet. It is just a coincident that it reminds you of Dieter. I was not so very familiar with his works then as I became later. 

Vatnaljod (1988)
Vatnaljod - mean water poem. Vatnahljod - means water sound. Those words rhyme in Icelandic and the wavy background indicates water - waves. I found that fitting to my water poem.


Untitled Harmonica, 2013
I have been printing since I, among others, founded Boekie Woekie 1986, here in Amsterdam. Printing on a Rotaprint offset machine, printing original graphic, that is to say, every colour is drawn on a paper offset plate, there is no existing original the printed image would be a reproduction of. The paper-plates don't print big runs, editions of more than a few hundred are hardly possible, the plates get worn but I have my fun mixing these old stones with newer ones for my flower jungles....I make the accordions since about two years ago, and they are all different and of an unlimited edition. So far I have made about twenty. 




Alden Viguilla, Girl Powah, no date.

A double-sided mini silkscreen booklet that packs a considerable punch! Single page 3" (h) x 2.25" (w), and open 1ft 6".

Cathy G. Johnson, Boy Genius, 2012-2014




Subtitled "A Guide to Feminity," this publication by Johnson shows all the signs of a desparate search for self, and coupled with the resigned quotes on the back leaves one wondering what's really up.  Single page 3.75" (h) x 4.25" (w), open  3' 9"   





Inechi, Exit Stance, 2013, ed. 50 copies



A fun accordion that tackles the big questions of existence. Single page 5.5" (h) x 4.25" (w). Open 1' 5".

Alden Viguilla, Luk Zehpyr and the Savage Race, 2013

A sharp drawing style that works well with the accordion format, this double-sided accordion by Alden Viguilla is the tops!

16 pages, 8.25" (h) x 4.5" (w) and open 3ft.



Fani Marceau & Joelle Jolivet, Panorama: A Foldout Book, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2007



A fun children's double-sided accordion with a day and night theme. Individual pages 13.5" x 10". 36 pages opened: 15ft.







Cai Guo-Qiang, Light Cycle: Explosion Project for Central Park, Sept. 15, 2003, curated and produced by Creative Time, New York.

Documentation for Cai Guo-Qiand's Sept. 15th explosion event in Central Park, as well as serving as the catalogue for the exhibition "Cai Guo-Qiang—Explosion Event: Light Cycle over Central Park," presented at the Asia Society Museum, New York, from Sept. 9 - Dec. 14, 2003.

A neat piece of documentation of an ephemeral event but also a good introduction to the work of this artist who uses gunpowder as his artistic medium. Includes an interview and reproduction of the drawings/plans for this piece.

Each page 9" (h) x 12" (w). Double-sided with 24 pages, with total width: 24ft.
All drawings 2003, gunpowder on paper 





Jonathon Rosen, The Birth of Machine Consciousness, Marseilles: Le Dernier Cri, 2003

A beautiful silkscreen production from Le Dernier Cri with bold page designs by Jonathon Rosen that create a sea of images and possible interpretations. Each page 11.25" (h) x 11.25" (w). 30 pages total, with a width of 28' 1.5".