All of the accordions that I put up on this blog usually have something we can learn from. But this publication is the exception as its a mess and at $45 a copy it's an expensive one at that. But it still can teach us something about face-to-face pairings and then their sequencing across the width of the accordion.
The premise amongst this international and domestic group of 20 artists gathering in Minneapolis is that they would be randomly paired off and then each of them would be required to choose a character from a prepared list. Then each pair were required to collaborate in creating a one-page work that reflected an interaction between the two characters. I have no issue with this model of art making and indeed some of the individual pages are cool. So at this point the group had 10 works sequenced into 5 pairings. Presumably the accordion format was chosen as the most expedient and economical way to present this project. But this is where the problems start. The 5 pairings are awkward with the works seeming to resist each other, and these tensions carry over into the final sequencing of the pairings across the accordion. Additionally the paper the work has been printed is not suited to this type of folding as it leaves rough and uneven spines on the folds which effects the experience of holding the books in one's hands. The final result is a disjointed and jarring accordion that probably would have been better presented in the traditional book format!
10 pages, 8.5" x 7", total length 5' 10'.
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| Front and back covers. |
