 |
| This lively accordion has stood on my mantlepiece for a number of weeks now and it still holds its own after all this time. Essentially one long print folded at particular key spots, the different types of imagery and assorted texts work well in combination with the profusion of color to thoroughly discredit the idea and activity of war. One-sided with single pages 4.5" (w) x 8" (h), and with its 14 pages opened up its 5ft 3inches long. |
 |
| Inside on the the cover of the accordion is "Eighteen favorite Kabuki pieces." The book is made up of 18 small screen printed images of Kabuki actors all representing roles in a famous set of 18 of the best kabuki plays (Kabuki Juhachiban). |
 |
| Turning to the back of the accordion a whole new story is revealed. From the dedication on the inside page of the book we can see that Nancy Frank, a bay area artist and organizer gifted this book to John Held Jr., in 2014. In 2015, John Held in turn dedicated it to me knowing of my passion for accordion publications! But John has added a new twist to the accordion as he's stamped all the empty backs of the pages with rubber stamp images from his archive, creating a cool rubber stamp panorama. Individual pages 3" (h) x 1.75" (w). At 20 pages when this book is unfolded it's 2" 11". |
There's a real sense of spontaneity and immediacy to this one-of-a-kind accordion. The Spanish words spells out "spoon - knife - done". Individual pages 3.75"(h) x 2.75"(w). 8 pages and one-sided, unfolded 22.25".
|
 |
| Two dark little accordions taken up with celebrity and fame of two quite distinctive types. Single pages 3.25" x 2". Fully extended—Psycho Killers: 15.5" and R.I.P. 11.75" |
 |
| On this back of this accordion book are the names and grisly statistics of each of these celluloid psycho-killers. |
 |
| "Alien Raver", Beguez's alter ego, sits at the end of the table in this mad hatter's tea party accompanied by the March Hare and Sleepy the Dormouse. Each page 3x3" and fully extended 1ft 6". |
 |
| Alexandra Beguez's alter ego, Alien Raver, consumes Caterpillar magical mushrooms, and "One side will make your grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter." Pages 3x3" and fully extended 1ft 6". |
 |
Poseidon was one of the twelve Olympian gods from Greek mythology and he was called the "God of the Sea." In this book he returns to our contemporary world and through a mix of mythology and his experiences in the present, he explores all the philosophical questions that were relevant in his 'previous' life. Other characters and stories from mythology appear also in the 7 chapters that make up this book, including Leda and the Swan, Prometheus, Jesus and Aphrodite. Drawn by the writer in sparse black and white drawings and combined with handwritten text under each work, this is a curiously compelling and humorous philosophical meditation located somewhere between the age of Greek mythology and our own contemporary time.
Individual pages 9"(h) x 7"(w), the books' 72 pages extend to 42ft. |
 |
| Another wild double-sided accordion from the French publishing house Le Dernier Cri. Patrick Lombe is a Marseille based artist and musician. This 5 color silk screened book is comprised of 3 accordions of varying sizes. There's a CD that comes with this book but I was unable to get it to play as it had paint and various glues all over it! However, from an internet search Lombe's music sounds like its totally experimental and probably would be classified as 'musique concrete', that is composed of experimental sounds and put through various different electronic boxes. Two of the larger accordions are 10 pages, with each page 8.25" (h) and 6" (w) and extended a total length of 30". |
 |
| Front cover (right) and back cover (left) |
