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".

Pat Steir, La Ligne du Coeur/The Heart Line, Le Magasin, Centre National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France, 1992

This double-sided artists' accordion book was published on the occasion of Pat Steir's exhibition at Le Magasin (Centre National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble), from June 6 - August 2nd, 1992.

On the inside cover Steir includes the following poem:

The Heart Line
A line is drawn, cut, crafted, felt and seen.
The Heart Line is a social history, a collection
of magical images.
Because images made in a single line have been
thought to carry omens.
I have connected all of the images in one timeless
chaotic line to make a single drawing of "history"
with space for the future, both of which in spirit
and reality are always now.

The power of the line has always played an important role in Steir's work and this accordion illustrates this in two ways: one side of the book appears to reproduce a series of drawings all connected by line, and the other side documents the line drawing that Steir created at La Magasin in her 1992 exhibition.

An intriguing and curious artists' book that explores an area of ongoing concern for this important woman artist.

20 pages at 5.75"(h) x 8.25"(w) each. Fully opened at 13ft 9".

The other side

Frances Barry, Walks of Liverpool: Five walking tours of Liverpool's public art and cultural hotspots, Tate, 2016. Illustrations by Rachel Shaw

Frances Barry follows up on her beautiful "Walks of Art London" (2015) featured in this blog, with this exceptional one dedicated to exploring the diverse cultural history and public art of Liverpool's urban scene. Smartly designed with enough information to get the visitor excited to complete all five walks outlined here. Nice one!

6 pages at 6.25"(h) x 6.25"(w), and fully opened 37.5" 

Barb Priem, Priem's Dreams, Madison, 2016

I came across this accordion book by Barb Priem at the recent 'Print & Resist' event at Madison's Public Library. Barb is a Madison-based artist who "...started making art four years ago. When I got out after a long nursing home stay. I found out that I couldn't do some of the jobs I used to do, so now I own my own business, making and selling my art." This attractively packaged double-sided original drawing has a real sense of vitality and energy that seems to be the hallmark of Barb's work. See more at her website: Priem’s Dreams

6 pages at 4.75"(h) x 4"(w). Fully opened at 2ft.

reverse side

back cover