Ginger R. Burrell, Sandy Hook, 2013. [edition 100]

A moving and well crafted accordion book that is a tribute to the 20 children between the ages of 6 & 7 as well as 6 adult staff, whose lives were cut short by another American terrorist with a military assault rifle on December 14, 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut. In a statement on her website Burrell addresses how she came up with the format and images for the book:

"In thinking about how to represent the children and school staff who were killed, I settled on the idea of using teddy bears for the children and apples for the adults. After spending several days purchasing individual bears and apples, I began taking the school portraits. It got harder and harder as I worked on the book; and taking the group photo left me in tears. I can't help but think of all the group photos those children will never be in: graduation, weddings, and countless family portraits. The photos are laid out in yearbook style and feature the name, birth dates and death dates for each person killed." 

12 pages at 13" x 4.5" and extended 4ft 6"

 

Bea Nettles, The Fig Leaf, Urbana, Illinois, 2010, ed. 17

A spunky and humorous little accordion booklet exploring the history of the fig leaf, the idea for which arose when Nettles spent time in Italy and "...became curious about the use of the fig leaf...". This playful accordion is the result, although I frankly don't know how to read the final image but the suggestion seems to be that someone has been nibbling at forbidden fruit! 

Along the bottom of the images is the following text: "The fig leaves that we see on Greek and Roman torsos were added to them after the Council of Trent and a 1557 edict from Pope Paul IV. Having been firmly attached to these existing sculptures, they continue to cling to them to this very day."

8 pages 3.75" x 2.5", opened 1ft 8"

Bea Nettles, 14 Mysteries, Urbana, Illinois, 2012. [open edition]

This is just a gem of an artists' book, and integral to the work is its accordion format. Underneath the 14 keys and for the whole length of the work is the following text, "These keys were found in a cluster when we moved here in 1984. Their purposes have long been forgotten. After twenty-two years they hang on a hook in the basement. One never knows when their role in our house will be revealed." 

14 pages at 3.5" x 1.5" and opened 1' 9"

Sjoed Knibbeler, Paper Planes, Fw: Books, 2015

This accordion comes in a beautifully made folder and the work is made up of photographs of 16 folded paper planes that are based upon drawings & diagrams for planes that were never actually manufactured. Photographed in a studio setting the 'planes' appear to have a substance and presence that is at odds with their reality. On the reverse side of the images are texts that describe the name, date and country of origin, as well as information about the design and history of each plane. This is a really fascinating conceptual accordion bookwork!

19 single pages at 8.25" x 11.75", and fully opened 13ft 0.75".

Each plane design has annotations and a short history on the back.

Dennis Oppenheim, Flower Arrangement for Bruce Nauman, New York City: Multiples, Inc., 1970. [edition: 1200]

As the title of this work suggests its a work in dialogue with a fellow minimalist/conceptual artist, Bruce Nauman, and a work of his titled "Flour Arrangements" (1967). This work consisted of the photo-documentation of a series of different shaped piles of flour that Nauman had created. Oppenheim's play on Nauman's title offers a different bouquet in which a series of photographs of one particular field of flowers taken over a period of time are stitched together in this seamless accordion.

Single page 6.25" x 9.25", 7 pages, and fully open at 5' 4.75".

Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum (brochure), Haifa, Israel, 2016

Some very simple accordions quite often have nice surprises inside, and this is one of them! The Bar Kokhba revolt was a rebellion of the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire. Fought circa 132–136 CE, it was the last of three major Jewish–Roman wars, so it is also known as The Third Jewish–Roman War or The Third Jewish Revolt. Some historians also refer to it as the Second Revolt of Judea, not counting the Kitos War (115–117 CE), which had only marginally been fought in Judea. The revolt erupted as a result of religious and political tensions in Judea. Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was regarded by many Jews as the Messiah, who would restore their national independence. [source: Wikipedia]

Double-sided, 12 pages, 4" x 8.5" and extended 2ft 3".

Young Woman's sandal, Bar Kokhba War (132-125 CE)

Kiki Smith, Realms, New York: PaceWildenstein, 2002 [edition 2000]

An accordion publication that accompanied Smith's exhibition "Realms" at the PaceWildenstein gallery in New York from March 14 - April 27, 2002. This small book is given over to depicting the interaction between a woman and a wolf and it would seem to be an eroticized version of the Little Red Riding Hood story - the poem on the inside cover reinforces this reading as well. Either way there's an uneasy tension that permeates this booklet that left me curious about the final outcome of this human and animal interaction.

Individual pages 5" x 3.5".  10 pages double-sided and fully extended 3' 6".

Thomas Seest (ed), Leporello #1 - 11, Lamgbortistan: Copenhagen, Denmark, 2005 [slipcase by Lina Bjorn]

This interesting project brought together 11 artists drawn from the Danish literary and artistic scenes who created a similar number of these small accordion books. 

The artists who collaborated on this project are: Thomas Seest, Jan Danebod, Mats Eriksson, Lina Bjorn, Jakob Wegener, David Bellingham, Janne Hoem, Ebbe Stub, Cecilie Gravesen, Emil Salto and Miriam Nielsen. 

As can be expected there is a huge variety in how each artist approached the unique space of an accordion. It is precisely this variety that gives this 'value pack accordion box' its appeal!

Individual book: 10 pages at 4" x 3", fully extended 3ft.

David Bellingham, Leporello #5,
Sections (through apertures in branches and leaves)

Cecilie Nusselein Gravesen, Leporello #8, Sailors Piano

Jakob Wegener, Leporello #7, side 1

Jakob Wegener, Leporello #7, side 2

Janne Hoem, Leporello #10, side 1

Janne Hoem, Leporello #10, side 2

Lina Bjorn, Leporello #1

Goddog and Sanair, Or Noir, Avignon, France, 2015. [edition 50]

The two street artists Goddog and Sanair collaborated on this book with each contributing one side and their abstracted styles mesh beautifully, and coupled with the lavish and sparkly gold ink used in the printing and you have a very compelling object. As regards how the book got its name, its simple Or (gold) and Noir (black). For further information check out the print studio Sanair runs with Goddog and Rinst in Avignon: La Generale Minerale

4 pages at 9" x 12.5" and extended 4ft 1.5". 

Back of book.