My interest in bookmaking was originally inspired by my activity as a printmaker during my graduate school years. As the print is composed of many layers which ultimately comprise its final state, the book can pick these states apart and honor each as a seperate page while still allowing for a composite reading. I always felt that printmaking positioned itself uniquely between a two and three dimensional sensibility and with this kind of a penchant inside me I felt drawn to the book as a medium which was able to expand this quality with the potential for also moving into the dimension of performance. However, what ultimately kept me interested in the book format was its structural resemblance to the human body and the consequent metaphoric potential of this resemblance : its symmetry, pivotal movement around an axis, its ability to hide and reveal its content, its vulnerability and its resiliance to onslaughts to its existence throughout history.
My first serious involvement in bookmaking began while on a Fulbright year in Germany 1986/87 where I learned the beginnings of the traditional craft and was able to study the rich history of this medium in its full splendor.
My first entries into the making of traditional hard covers quickly moved into more experimental bindings. I was fascinated with the potential for correspondences between structure and content of a book.
Of substantial inspiration where the non-adhesive bindings which artists in the US were experimenting with. While I played with a number of different structural directions my ultimate goal was to incorporate books onto architectural environments merging structural elements which both would share. I only realized one project of this kind so far (see "Peace Pending") as other bodies of work have taken priority for me and the substantial financial commitments for such large pieces have mostly been out of my reach.
As with my other work handmade paper is a staple in my bookmaking process. In particular I am using paper to directly incorporate text into my books for which I have developed a modified version of watermarking.
For a detailed description of my watermarking technique click on
- Papermaking, Alternative Watermarks
Papermaking techniques help me encase the book into a larger viewing context particularly through light or other environmental factors . Embeddings - such as wire, string, sticks or rivets - are used as hanging or binding devices, can incorporate surrounding architecture encasing the book and can serve to metaphorically complete the intention of the content. Watermarks underline the continuity of the reading process while necessitating light from the environment.
Because I like to work in a variety of dimensions and often work large, artist books are a useful format to accompany my cycles of work: they can encapsulate ideas from entire bodies of work, they are small and they can remain consistent with my usual visual vocabulary. I see my books as intimate performance versions of my larger 2- and 3-dimensional work. A variety of one-of-a-kind books have grown out of my various work cycles, such as "Peace Pending" and Pax" a couple of earlier books on the subject of world conflict,or "Privacy" and "Privacy Quartered/Rivetet" which accompany the "Privacy" cycle, or "Mix&Match" which accompanies the "November 9" installation.
