Gloria Glitzer (Franziska Brandt and Moritz Grunke), Cosy Complex, offset, first edition, 2019, ed. 220.

Two mini-accordions, held together with an expandable ribbon, make up the Cosy Complex package. Both books combine images of hands playing with silly putty coupled with single words, and on the reverse short texts on colored backgrounds. Frankly, these books are a bit of a mystery to me in terms of what they are about, and the issues they are addressing, and I'm just left enjoying their rather sensuous and enticing imagery and texts, as well as the feel of them in my hands (I wonder if their UV varnish helped that!). The artists write about Cosy Complex stating:

Cosy Complex is a call to be more self-conscious but also asks about the others. What's their work worth and how does it relate to me. Cosy Complex is also dedicated to Jam Rostron and a thank-you for zir great music.

At their website (gloriaglitzer.com/) the artists describe Gloria Glitzer as an artist' group, a publisher, an avatar of the artists Franziska Brandt and Moritz Grunke, both from Germany. Founded in 2007, Gloria Glitzer develops, creates and publishes artzines and artist' books and understands publishing as an artistic practice. In the following text they describe their approach to books:

Books are alternate space, under aesthetic and social aspects. With self-publishing as we understand it we are able to undermine the presets of exhibiting and collecting structure and their dependencies and to bypass the gatekeeping of the art market. And because our books are alternate spaces we can define our very own values and social communities in it. In our books we test concepts and ideas without waiting for permission or invitation. We understand our publications as a form of taking responsibility of our ideas and their circulation.

Both books are made up of 7 double-sided pages, individual pages are 4 3/4" (h) x 3 1/4" (w), and when fully opened the books are 30" wide.

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This image from the artists' website

back cover

back cover

NY Art Book Fair, Sept., 20-22, Moma PS1, 2019

It was hot, it was crowded but there was lots of great stuff, including an elaborate installation of Le Dernier Cri's poster works and their books.  I walked away with a bunch of artists' accordions as well.

art-blogarte, Leandro Katz (2018), Diego Melero (2017/18), Alberto Mendez (2018), Carla Ray (2017) and Alejandro Thornton (2017), Argentina

I was at the 2019 New York Art Book Fair the other month and came across this one table which had a bunch of really cool accordions, and of course I snapped them up for the blog.

I'd never heard of this organization from Argentina before, but on their web-site they state that:

The civil association arte-blogarte is a non-profit entity with legal status since 2009. We embrace the idea that art is as attractive and captivating as it is deeply useful and necessary. We seek in the creators the material of our continuous improvement. Our main interest is the ideas and the ways in which they crystallize in the culture of our time.

On their table were the following series of accordions by a group of well established experimental Argentinian artists. All the accordions have a uniform length of 39 1/4" with individual pages 5 3/4" high and 4" in length. All appear to have been screenprinted. 

It's a fascinating grouping of works all of which are exploring the intersection of language, visuality, performativity, and the political in a variety of really interesting ways. 

Leandro Katz (b. 1938)

 10 pages, one-sided, unbound, signed, 2018, ed. 40

Diego Melero (b. 1960)

8 pages, one-sided with attached covers, signed, 2017/18, 
ed. 40

Alberto Mendez (b. 1966)

10 pages, double-sided with loose boards, signed, 2018, ed. 40.

Carla Rey

8 pages, one-sided with attached covers, signed, 2017, ed. P/9.

Alejandro Thornton (b. 1970)

10 pages, one-sided with loose boards, signed, 2017, ed. 40.

Hunt, Clifford and Stephen Perkins, Copy 9, mixed media, 2019

Another work where I sent Clifford an accordion and he sends it back to me with his additions. See next entry for a new accordion by Clifford himself.

4 double-sided pages, single page 9"(h) x 7.25" (w), when fully opened 2ft 4.5".

Clifford Hunt, There W All, mixed media collage, 2019

I've featured a couple of other accordions by my mate Clifford on this blog and we've also collaborated on some together. But this one was waiting for me after I was away from home for a couple of days. Both Clifford and myself are interested in visual poetry and word play, and this accordion is a testament to Clifford's longtime explorations in this area.

6 pages, double-sided, single page 6.5" (h) x 3" (w), when opened 15". 

Alden Viguilla, Bestiary (nd), and It's Raining Cats and Dogs (nd)

Two quite different accordions by Viguilla that complement the 3 others that I have featured in this blog. The first one here, Bestiary, which Viguilla describes as "a collection of mythical beasts risographed in blue and gold," is a curious 2-sided accordion that displays the typical muted colors of the risograph process, coupled with Viguilla's simplified forms & features of the "beasts" showcased.

8 double-sided pages, individual 5" (h) x 4" (w), and when fully open 2' 6", edition of 100.

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Viguilla describes his little accordion book as a "4-color mini silkscreen accordion book handprinted on Canson Edition printmaking paper and a 2-color chipboard cover." This is a fun book with a light touch and all of it nicely enhanced by the rich colors of the screenprinting process.

6 pages, individual pages 3 3/4" (h) x 3 (w), when fully open 18", edition of 30.

6dreams, editor Roger Omar, Valencia, Spain

This is a really beautiful and well thought out accordion project initiated in 2002 by Roger Omar, which combines a really sharp conceptual framework, matched with a fresh formal design and presentation. See a previous posting of 5 other works from this wonderful series.

At the present time there are approximately 38 accordions in this "6dreams" series, and the underlying structure and theme of the individual accordions is so simple and beautifully complete. Individual accordions are designed by different illustrators, and they are based on 6 dreams as described by children between the ages of 8-10 years, most of them from Mexico and Spain, and presented in both Spanish and English.

The format and size is the same for all of these 5 page double-sided accordions: individual pages 8.25" (h) x 7.75" (w), and when fully open they are 38.75".

For further information about this innovative project go to: https://elmonstruodecoloresnotieneboca.wordpress.com/

#20
Title: Winter Handkerchief
Dreamers: Luli, Valencia, Spain
Illustrator: Mexer
Date: 2013

#27

Title: The Greatest Gangster in the Galaxy
Dreamers: Children in Oliva, Valencia, Spain
Illustrator: Benjamin Courtault
Date: 2014

#29
Title: Eternally
Dreamers: Dorett, Valencia, Spain
Illustrator: Lea Heinrich
Date: 2014

#30

Title: Hamsters
Dreamers: Children in Villava, Navarra, Spain
Illustrator: Karoline Achilles
Date: 2015

#31
Title: Childkiller Medicine
Dreamers: Ricardo Chavez, Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
Illustrator: Marta Pina
Date: 2015

#32
Title: Boy, What Happened?
Dreamers: Children in Havana, Cuba
Illustrator: Tim Peacock
Date: 2015

#36
Title: Giant Chicken Wings
Dreamers: Children in Godella, Valencia, Spain
Illustrator: Carlos Ortin
Date: 2016

#37
Title: White, Blue, Beige and Brown
Dreamers: Children of A Coruna, Galicia, Spain
Illustrator: Jano
Date: 2019

#42
Title: Hongas Gigantes (Giant Fungus)
Dreamers:Navarra, Spain

Illustrator: Nicholas Stevenson
Date: 2019