Lewis Koch, Double Caution Totem (Book One), Nexus Press, Atlanta, 1993

Presented in a smart slipcase, this contemporary totem is an assemblage of photographs of natural and man-made structures from the urban environment. This is one of a series of three books, all of which comprise smaller versions of the original wall-mounted photographic works. Each original assemblage was made in an edition of 8 and was 108" (H) x 19" (W). This publication is 42" (H) x 8" (W) For further photographs by Koch: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/lewis-koch-touchless-automatic-wonder

Addenda: when Lewis came over a couple of months ago to attend an opening in my home-based gallery, Subspace, it was dark when he tried to enter my back door, he managed to walk into the screen door and wreck it!  No big deal, but he must have been feeling guilty about it, and knowing that I had posted Book One of the trilogy on my blog, he gave me the other two as compensation. I was very happy about that!  The two publications are below titled "Surplus Koan Totem: Book Two," and "Slender Thread Totem: Book Three," 1993.

Saul Steinberg, The Line, The Saul Steinberg Foundation and Nieves, New York City, 1954/2011

    

In 1954, Saul Steinberg, the celebrated Romanian born cartoonist and artist, was invited by Ernesto Rogers, a partner in the Milan based architectural firm BBPR, to design a series of sgraffito murals for the “Children’s Labyrinth” at the 10th Triennial of Milan.(1) The labyrinth was designed with walls that formed a trefoil ‘clover leaf’ design and Steinberg created four long drawings that were photographically enlarged and then incised into the walls using the sgraffito technique.(2) Each of Steinberg’s drawings drew upon themes close to his heart and were titled: The Line, Types of Architecture, Shores of the Mediterranean, and Cities of Italy.

The Line was first published as an accordion in 2011 by the Swiss publishing house Nieves, and in 2014 they published all four of Steinberg’s drawings as accordions and presented in a slipcase.(3) The central formal feature of this nearly 19 foot accordion is a thin black line that runs just above the midpoint along the whole length of the work. Above and below this line Steinberg has drawn in his inimitable style, scenes of travel, exotic locations, train stations, women’s fashions, palaces, old buildings, grand courtyards and one cat amongst other subjects. There’s a real feeling of improvisation and spontaneity to Steinberg’s ‘laundry line’ of drawings with all of them imbued with an underlying sense of mischievousness that would appeal to the imaginations of young children. 

In some ways this work is a realization of a discussion Steinberg had had with a fellow architectural student, Aldo Buzzi, from 1933 in which “…they found themselves deep into a philosophical discussion of what would happen if an artist drew a single line and allowed it to evolve into a drawing.”(4)

Looking at the larger aspects of this accordion three themes emerge. Firstly, there are its origins as a working prototype for a temporary site-specific work. It would, however, take fifty-seven years before it became available to a much wider audience as an accordion. Alas, Steinberg, never got to see this work as it came out twelve years after his death.(5)

Secondly, this accordion also serves a documentary function in preserving this ephemeral work’s original design and imagery for the future. Thirdly, this accordion is also a children’s book, since its imagery was specifically designed to be installed inside in a child friendly environment. Additionally, the drawings all promise a journey of adventure accompanied by all sorts of twists and turns to keep younger audiences following the line.

Footnotes:

1. The Milan triennial was originally established in 1923 and serves as a showcase for Italian architecture and design, and currently takes place in The Triennale di Milano, a museum of art and design in Milan.

2. Sgraffito is a technique where potters can put a layer of glaze or slip on a piece of pottery, let it dry, then use a pottery carving tool to scratch at if to show the base layer of color.  Sgraffito derives from an Italian word meaning “to scratch.” diamondcoretools.com. Accessed: 4.2.24

3. The original drawings were created on long sheets of paper and then rolled up and mailed from New York to Milan, see: Deirdre Bair, Saul Steinberg: A Biography, Doubleday, New York, 2012, pgs. 325-326.

4. Bair, Deirdre, Saul Steinberg: A Biography, Doubleday, New York, 2012, p. 37.

5. The Line, Nieves, Zurich, 2011, consists of 30 single sided pages, individually

10” x 7.5” and when unfolded 18ft 9”.

front page 

back page

International Graffiti Times, Vol. 6, 1984, NYC

Folded size: 9" x 4", unfolded 17.5" (h) x 22" (w)

International Graffiti Times, Vol. 4, 1984, NYC

Folded size: 9" x 4", unfolded 17.5" (h) x 22" (w)

International Graffiti Times, Vol. 3, 1984, NYC

Folded size: 9" x 4", unfolded 17.5" (h) x 22" (w)

Jason Middlebrook, A Celebration of Debris, San Francisco Art Institute, 2001

A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, this curious and oddly shaped accordion is an offset lithographic print commissioned by the SFAI, December 2001. Signed by artist.  4"-1' (H) 16" (L)

Tate Artist Timeline, Tate Gallery, London, 2006

 
 
 

A handwritten timeline by Sara Fanelli that covers the 20th century and lists all the major artists and movements. This accordion is the published version of the same timeline that's installed on the walls of Levels 3 and 5 at the Tate Modern. The text that accompanies this publication states that Fanelli's handwriting "...is designed to reflect the dynamic nature of twentieth-century art history, rather than something set in stone."  6.25" (H) 75" (L)

The Timechart History of the World, Third Millennium Trust, England, 2004/2008

 

  

A 600 year history of the world from Adam and Eve to Barack Obama in 14 feet 9 inches! Originally published as a Victorian wall chart in 1890, this version's timeline has been extended to the year 2008. This is an extraordinarily detailed chart of world events and figures, and the reverse side contains a contemporary timeline of the leaders of China, Russia, Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany and the USA.

The panoramic feature of accordions is obviously well suited to the chronological display and evolution of many different types of subject matter, and these accordions constitute a distinct sub-genre within accordion publications. This type of timeline publication also illustrates the historical linkage with the accordions' predecessor — the scroll.  17.5" (H) 177" (L)

Helge Reumann & Xavier Robel, Elvis Road, Buenaventura Press, Oakland, 2007

This is an absolutely stunning 24 foot drawing by these two Swiss artists that depicts a long road that cuts through a bizarre and surreal metropolitan landscape, and in the final pages we witness the triumphal return of Jesus! The title of this accordion references Elvis Studio, the name they both individually and collectively work under. 8.75" (h) x 24' (w) 

Jenni Freidman, Bend and Sway, Intaglio print, 2002

Freidman's accordion is an intaglio print that combines line etch, aquatint and soft ground to create a mysterious dimensionality combined with a sense of movement, both qualities that are reflected in the title of this work. Freidman lives in Hartford, Connecticut and publishes under the Stone Dragon Press imprint and is inspired by the natural world. 22" (h) x 120" (w) Jenni Freidman's website: jenni freidman

Robert Morris, Continuous Project Altered Daily, Multiples Inc., New York, NY, 1970

back page

Robert Morris' contribution to "Artists & Photographs" a boxed edition of artists' multiples, published by Multiples Inc., in association with Colorcraft Inc., New York, NY, in 1970. The 16 photographs in this accordion document an assortment of different elements (earth, plastic, wood etc...) that comprised the original installation, which was changed each day throughout the duration of the work.  12" (W) 72" (L) 

For further details about this artists' boxed edition (ed. 1200) the link below takes you to Public Collectors, an incredible resource for artists projects, collections, and other weird stuff, as well as a detailed listing of the contents of this box. Also at this link is a fascinating hour-long discussion about this publication and its contents by the renowned collector/dealer of artists multiples/publications: Steven Leiber (1957-2012): Boxed Artist's Editions: Collection of stevenleiberbasement, San Francisco, California

Chuck Close, Keith/Six Drawings, Lapp Princess Press in association with Printed Matter, New York, 1979

Chuck Close's accordion presents six portraits of the same sitter with each gridded image created by using different mark making utensils, including stamp pad fingerprints and one with a "Spring street bar swizzle stick." 6" (H) 77.5" (L)

This publication still available from: PrintedMatter.org