Monday, July 4, 2022

Hiroshige (1797-1858), A Shoal of Fishes, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1980

An accordion comprised of reproductions of 20 different prints of fish, accompanied by a section with information about each print, as well as a poem associated with each fish.

The reproductions are fine and obviously the prints are wonderful examples of this well known artists' works. The only problem for me with this "accordion" is that it does not behave like a traditional accordion! 

The works are comprised of one page prints that have then been folded in half, and then each edge of the sheet is glued to the one that follows it. Which all results in a binding at each side of the print that does not open up fully, as it would have if it had been a long continuous folded sheet. To force the "accordion" open would be to endanger the whole work, as the binding would probably break.  As a result, the only safe way to experience this book is as a traditional book, two pages at a time, all of which rather defeats the whole point of printing the book in the accordion format!

56 single-sided pages, individually 10.5" x 7.5", and when fully open 35 feet.

accordion with slip cover







Larry Wolf, Pavement Calligraphy, 2021

Larry Wolf photographed these worn and disintegrating road markers at Clark and Lawrence in Chicago, and this observation & documentation of something in his everyday life, makes for a succinct little accordion. 

Wolf writes about his work saying, "I seek creative dissonance and celebrate the richness of life. Photography is a gateway to being present, grounding awareness in direct perception. Holding the camera shifts me to a visual mode, fully in my body, in the world, here and now. This is a meditative practice, a non-verbal experience of ordinary moments that connects hands, eyes, heart and mind. My pronouns are he/him/his. "Make good trouble," John Lewis.

For more of Wolf's works see: Impulse to Action: My 2021 Zine Making Journey

6 pages double-sided, size 2.75" x 2.75", and when unfolded 1ft 4.5".


front

reverse
                             
image by Larry Wolf