Book and Body

By: Erin L. Kuhn

Louise Bourgeois Cell IV (1991) 
Photo: courtesy Guggenheim Bilbao
exhibition in Moscow’s Garage Museum in 2015
Louise Bourgeois uses symbolic objects to capture and trigger strong emotions of pain and fear. My work is relatable to these emotions. I want my audience feel this, whether it is a reminder of something physical/ emotional/ or psychological. But what Louise Bourgeois work doesn’t give, that mine will, is hope. I want to show my audience that there is a way out of all the fear and pain. I want them to realize, in the message I send, that they are not alone in this discomfort and that there is hope of a better tomorrow. 
Roy Nachum uses brail in his art so the visually impaired can enjoy his art. I want to touch on this in my art as well, allowing the people blind or not to physically feel my 2D prints and paintings. I hope to work within the blind community so that that they can enjoy and experience my artwork even if it can not bee seen.  
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/artist-incorporates-braille-poems-paintings-article-1.1527065 
As a printmaker, we are told to “Look, but do not touch.” This is a formality respected in most art galleries. This got me thinking, how do the blind enjoy/ interpret art if they can’t see it? In my book making, the texture of the materials I use is important in portraying the message I hope to capture to my audience. We all subjectively perceive art differently as individuals. I myself have difficulty verbally communicating myself to others, so I rely on my art to speak for me.
As I continue to struggle, on how to communicate myself to the world better, I realize I am not the only one. There are people out amongst us now that struggle every day if not every second with communication. The Disabled, the Abused, the Impaired find it a constant struggle. When we cannot find our voice amongst society we fear to socialize.   
My work touches on the theoretical subject of identifying communication difficulties, but my work ALSO encourages "failure", in myself and my audience. Growing up, I would FEAR the word failure because I didn’t understand it. The word failure had a negative personal attachment that I let affect me in all the wrong ways. From that moment when you don’t know how to communicate your thoughts, know it is a struggle we have all faced at one point or time in our lives. It is an uncomfortable/ awkward experience that we try to avoid at all costs, but that same feeling you get from my art work is quite alright. My hope is that my audience will learn to feel comfortable by looking and touching my portrayal of uncomfortable and awkward communication experiences. 

"Flip Off" presented by Minnesota Center for Book Arts in conjunction with Book Art Biennial 2013 and Directed: The Intersection of Book, Film and Visual Narrative.
This Flip Off exhibit displayed a grouping of book artist through a series of flip books. Going off of this idea, I want each of my pieces to illustrate or animate the telling of a story. I plan on also collaborating with a community of the blind and/ or the hearing impaired, and arrange their work within the space I create to tell a story that is not only a visual sensation.

Not Just Talking: Identifying Non-Verbal Communication Difficulties- A Life Changing Approach
By Sioban Boyce
This book talks about the phycology of communication and how or why we can fail to develop those skills. This book also talks about all the elements of communication that we fail to recognize. Here we recognize failure of communication and are given a feeling of shame for lack of skill. I find this book very informative in a scientific/ factual sense. My work touches on the subjects and elements of this reading, but my work encourages "failure". No one is perfect. That moment when you do not know how to communicate your thoughts is a struggle we have all faced at one point or time. It is an uncomfortable/ awkward experience that we try to avoid. We fear it when we are placed within that public or social setting. My message to you, through the help and use of my art work, is to let all of you know that you are not alone. It is ok to fail.