Okay, this post is really getting on the bandwagon. I went to the art-section of my favourite book-shop the other day and there was a whole shelf dedicated to making books, ideas for altered books etc etc. It does feel like a bit of an obsession amongst the craft-lovers. As I flicked through I thought that some were great -- really interesting and different, but most just hit that note of pretention and that feeling of trying-too-hard.I thought I'd show some of the ones that I really like, and make me want to try it out myself:
Here I am looking at some artists who I think really do something a bit different and alter their books in a highly original way:
Jacqueline Rush Lee: Lorum Ipsum II
Jaqueline Rush Lee Ex Libris (2000)
Jacqueline Rush Lee: Endoskeleton (2000)
Jacqueline Rush Lee writes in her bio that she is inspired by everyday objects, materials and colours in her surrounding environment - particularly used books. I really like what she does with them. She's not scared to go quite far with her ideas.
Brian Dettmer (2010)
Brian Dettmer Integrated Electronics (2008)
Brian Dettmer (2009)
Brian Dettmer is an artist from the United States who perform biopsies on books, mostly manuals.
Jennifer Khoshbin Alice Knows
Jennifer Khoshbin You're a Liar
Jennifer Khoshbin places these in her portfolio under 'Manipulation', I like how she keep the original book and story but makes it into an artwork.
Isaak G. Salazar
Isaak G. Salazar
Isaak G. Salazar
Unfortunately I can't find the website of Salazar. I really like how he folds the pages rather than cutting them away. Slightly cheesy on the wordplay (he does 'Twilight' for Twilight), but beautifully done.
Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) was a fantastic sculptor, most famous for his hanging mobiles, wire sculptures, and best of all his CIRCUS!
Calder is up there with my favourite artists of all time, mostly because of his child-like imagination as well as prodigious talent.
I don't want to be repetitive in the information that is already out there. Moreover, it's probably much more comprehensive than I could ever be if you want to know about his life, work and history. Therefore, for this purpose I supply a few links that I have found useful in the past:
Calder had a fantastic exhibition in Paris at the Pompidou Centre entitled 'The Paris Years' in 2009. Unfortunately I never saw it but bought the exhibition catalogue last time I was there.
Below are the pieces by Calder that I keep coming back to:
Goldfish Bowl, 1929
I love how this piece has his autograph sculpted into it, as do many of his others. I tried wire sculpture for a while but I just didn't have the right quality of wire (garden wire just wont do!). I will certainly try again though. If you know of a particular type that is good I would like to hear.
National Gallery III, 1972
And finally his circus. One way of really seeing the man's love for his circus is with the Youtube videos. They are probably the best way of seeing how the circus worked as something other than a static toy set.
If you have any other information (interesting links or exhibitions) on Calder, or have a particular favourites I would love to hear in the comments.
