Tiers Asunder_1 - 5, 2017. Artist Books: intaglio & letterpress prints on acid
stained kitikata paper, book board & cloth, cave paper and miscellaneous
papers bound in drum leaf book structure.
Tiers Asunder was inspired by a photograph that I found rummaging through family heirloom photo albums―an image of an aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, on which my grandfather was one of its captains during WWII. During his term, a Kami Kazi pilot (whose childhood nickname was Eyeballs) bombed the carrier. The pilot died with 13 others that day. The photo documents the hole in the carrier's deck from the explosion with the crew standing by. The image held me as I reflected on the space created by the destructive act—an opening for exploration and a suggestion on how to proceed with the work. My intent was not to make an artist book about this narrative but to use elements of it to create an experience.
Process is content. To speak to the destructive act, I intentionally dirtied the papers for the book pages using a process I coined "negative conservation". I recalled once watching a paper conservator remove acid stains from artwork―a washing process that left acid tide lines on the support material. I saw the byproduct of the practice as a way to stain the kitikata papers for this book.
addendum:
While binding book #3, glue seeped through and soiled the end sheets. Unexpected, unintended, what I now refer to as an ath'wart, and a pause, I asked, "How does this mark contribute to the whole?" I thank judi goldberg for use of her words*—and response to my question.
*all ways know―
ing the right of it some
times spoils the
view
