YELLOW RUPERT TROUSERS

Petra Press. Protect me from maniacs. [Milwaukee, Wis. : Petra Press, 2004]. 

A unique artist's book consisting of a found wooden box with four compartments, each of which contains one or two books, each book measuring 7 x 6 cm (not all shown in this post; come visit, k?). The first compartment contains a small red velvet bag printed with a heart, housing found items such as metal charms, a small plastic doll arm, a key, fortunes, and printed Oración de la piedra iman. Below the bag is a book consisting of red fabric screen printed in black with illustrations and a quote from Shakespeare's As you like it; the book is pamphlet stitched into a leather wrapper with faux ivory watch face mounted on the front cover. The second compartment houses two books, each consisting of three panels of sewn text and illustration. The third compartment houses a book with sewn cover; the pages within are folded to form pockets containing found texts and images upon which the artist has drawn in red and black ink. The fourth compartment contains a scroll formed from black leather onto which various metal charms and plastic objects are held by a sewn-on mesh. The box lid is filled with red wax into which have been impressed metal charms and other small objects. Various coins have been glued to the bottom of the box.

When I contacted the artist about the book, she offered that her husband is the maniac to whom the title refers. They're happily married now. I don't know more than that, so I'll stop here, with a selection of images (under the cut).

A few books with minimal comment:


Bailey, Paul Dayton. Grandpa was a polygamist. Los Angeles : Westernlore Press, 1960.


This is what a polygamist looks like.

Romero, Derli. Dextra/sinistra. Morelia, Michoacán, México : Nihil Obstat Press, 2001. [4] leaves, [10] leaves of plates : ill. ; 48 cm. T.p., plates, and portfolio label printed by pyrography (i.e., branding). Edition of 25 copies. 

This was cataloged a long time ago, but it is often in mind because there is nothing else like it. I love it for its deceptive simplicity. Sorry for the poor photos...

This is a book I have very mixed feelings about. When I first saw it, I felt we had to have it. My boss was dubious, but I argued, based on the presentation of the work but knowing nothing about it, that it would sit well with our critical theory collection. The element of deconstruction was almost too obvious, I thought. But that's not what the work is about at all. Here's the catalog description:

"Handmade clamshell box covered with Japanese bookbinding fabric. Includes a set of 26 apothecary vials, 26 diagnostic cards, and a pair of tweezers. Also included is a hand-bound guidebook entitled 'Using literary essences'--a conceptual step-by-step guide to the use of 'literary essences' as natural health remedies for emotional and spiritual well-being. Each vial contains lozenge-sized circles allegedly punched from pages of first hardcover editions of twenty-six works of literature, treated with a solution that captures the precise and particular "odor" of a given work. Each essence--hence, each book--cures, alleviates, or engages certain feelings, symptoms, or conditions, as indicated by the accompanying cards." More on this book at the artists' website.

I feel like the piece is overdetermined and too into itself, if that makes sense. I'd prefer to ponder the box of vials without the how-to book or the diagnostic cards. I'd be endlessly intrigued. In the end, my boss likes the work more and I like it less. 

All that said, it is visually intriguing, flawlessly assembled, and it smells wonderful. When I'm doing instruction sessions on artists' books, I always show it.

So far no one who has engaged with the work is as troubled about it as I am. What do you think?

Since cataloging it years ago, this has been a persistent favorite (like, absolute favorite) book. It's extraordinarily pretty to look at, the poems are great, and it is very nice to touch. It was produced in an edition of 2. How lucky am I to even have come into contact with the book? I wonder where the other copy is? 



Golden, Rory. Sixteen sonnets. [New York?] : Palmapodoca Press, c2000. [38] p. : col. ill. ; 21 cm. Digitally printed text. Illustrated with original graphite pencil drawings; color added in gouache or watercolor in a medium of methyl cellulose; highlighted with ink pens and water-soluble crayons. 

A collaborative artists' book (1994). Designed by Peter Koch and hand-lettered by Christopher Stinehour. Printed letterpress from zinc engravings onto soft lead plates by Koch. Housed loose in a glazed ceramic box (18 x 13 x 4 cm) created by the sculptor Stephen Braun. Yes, printed on lead plates (see images under cut). Lead plates + ceramic box = heavy book.

"This 'text transmission object' is a collaborative sculpture designed as a 'forgery' of a hypothetical object discovered by archeologists in the dump of ancient Corinth ... Contains a selection of twenty-one selected short, philosophical performance pieces by Thomas McEvilley composed from the lore surrounding Diogenes of Sinope. As the plates are loose and unpaginated, they can be read in a random order"--Publisher's website.