 |
This is a beautifully produced book that tells the story of Noah's ark in a series of sweeping images on both sides of the accordion, with the publisher stating that this book is the "Indian version of the Biblical tale". Either way its a smart treatment of an old tale woven together through the wonderful traditional folk art style of Bengal. The book comes with a slip cover. Individual pages 9.5" (h) x 6" (w), with a total of 34 pages and an open width of 17 feet. |
 |
An interesting work from this Chinese American visual artist who is based in New York. This piece was created for the 2009 Women Artists International Biennial in Incheon, Korea. The book includes images from her installation, Run-On Sentences as well as works from the drawing series Insomnia in the Other Garden a piece that included watercolor, soot, silkscreen and cut paper drawings. The book reads as per the Chinese language, from the end of the book to the front, which is curiously how the pre-Columbian codices were structured. Eight pages at 7" x 5.5" and fully opened 3' 8". For further information about Ting's work see:http://www.maryting.com/ |
 |
Another little beauty from this long-time Scottish book artist. Invited to do a residency by the Mexican artist and publisher Martha Hellion, Douglas found her way to a wonderful surrealist paradise called Las Pozas (The Pools) that was created by the English poet, artist and surrealist Edward James. Located north of Mexico City the land was originally a coffee plantation that James acquired in 1947. At the beginning he planted orchids and settled exotic animals on the plantation but after a bad frost in 1962 destroyed many of the plants, he started creating his "Surrealist Xanadu" by building surrealist sculptures and buildings. By the time of his death in 1984 he had built 36 concrete sculptures spread out over 20 acres of jungle.
Douglas' book is a celebration of this wonderful, and little known, artistic site. Looking carefully at the pages one sees extra digital elements inserted into the original photographs in the form of birds, plants and patterns that reflect Douglas' desire to incorporate into the book elements of both contemporary Mexico and the weaving, embroidery and beadwork traditions of the indigenous peoples.
92 pages at 5" x 5" each, and open the width is 44ft 2".
|
 |
| A rather sweet accordion by the English illustrator Marie Angel (1923-2010). Trained as a calligrapher, she attended Croydon School of Arts and Crafts and then the Royal College of Art in London. Soon after art school she started receiving commissions for her work and it can now be found in the permanent collections of important European and American libraries and musuems. In a short biographical note in this book it notes that she "...enjoys gardening, sports cars, and her cats..." 8 pages, single-sided, each 7.25" x 6.75" with total length of 4ft 6". |
 |
| Another great accordion from the Le Dernier Cri's 'Collection Sandwich' series that I was lucky enough to find this summer. I'm unsure how many there are in the collection (10?) but it seems to have started in 1995 and continued throughout the decade. This cool series is marked by editions designed by either an individual artist or a collaboration between two artists. The square format, the black boards of the covers and the silk screened insides reflect a real concern with quality and presentation. This one by Leo Quievreux is no exception and, although my French is not really up to translating the texts contained in here, you can clearly see that there's some kind of surreal landscape in which a crew of barely human creatures are fighting it out. Size 5" x 5" with 7 double-sided pages, total length 45". |
 |
| I was recently lucky enough to find this copy of an accordion from Le Dernier Cri's 'Sandwich Series' of astounding accordions. This particular one is no exception although I'm unable to make out the name of the artist(s). No sweat as the book has the usual twisted energy of a Le Dernier Cri publication, but this time in the accordion format its given full play. Individual pages 4.75" x 4.75" seven pages double-sided silkscreen with an overall length of 33.25". |
 |
The reverse side opened up
|
 |
