Collaborative Concertina Book: Collecting Ourselves
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Project Prompt
"The most profound enchantment for the collector is the locking of individual items within a magic circle in which they are fixed as the final thrill, the thrill of acquisition, passes over them... One has only to watch a collector handle the objects in his glass case. As he holds them in his hands, he seems to be seeing through them into their distant past as though inspired." —Walter Benjamin The act of gathering together chosen objects, whether a small bowl of shells or pebbles, a box of found whiskers from a beloved pet cat, or every antique toaster known to man (I have a friend who started a toaster museum!), creating a personal collection can be very personal and idiosyncratic act of love. What objects do you collect? Did you have a collection as a child? Drawers of pinned insects, natural history specimens, and cabinets of curiosities have fascinated artists for centuries. Look at the cinematic box displays created by Joseph Cornell, Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder's artists' book boxes, the imagined collections of printmaker Acadia Kandora, or the massive rooms filled with objects in the installations of Ann Hamilton. Taking inspiration from this thematic prompt of 'Collecting Ourselves', create a print that portrays a personal collection, taken literally or figuratively. This print will be folded in half to create a folio that will be sewn into a signature with other student's prints. Working in both the Intro to Book Arts and Intro to Print sections of the class, your print will combine handset type and relief in an edition of 36. At the end of the semester, we will collate these to distribute among the class and bind them into a concertina book. Each of your prints will be grouped with several other student’s prints in signatures, sewn into the concertina spine. Try to design your prints so they work well once they’re folded into a signature. Heather and Daniella will create a letterpressed title page, with a list of each your names and a colophon as a separate signature. Guidelines Paper: Your choice! Provided by you! Paper size: 5" x 10" folded in half once printed to create a square format Edition size: 36 Colors: Navy, dark orange, mango 15 points: 3 Conceptual Development + Problem Solving 3 Composition + Design 3 Craftsmanship 3 Quanity + Quality 3 Contribution to Discussion Board Timeline |
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