I visited the Antiquarian Book Fair in Boston over the weekend and saw some really amazing work. There were many fine bindings to marvel at, but one of my favorite booths at the fair was Derringer Books which focused mainly on late twentieth century artists and writers. Upon entering the book fair, I wanted to find some books on Donald Judd and minimalism in general. Derringer books had these in relative abundance. A Donald Judd furniture catalog he had on display was a little ho-hum and quite pricey at $1000. I was really taken by a book work by Dieter Roth which consisted of a slip case containing two stiff card like wrappers which held unbound cut paper in simple geometric patterns. As the cards shifted in your hands the patterns would magically change, creating clumsy op-art. One set of cards was purely black and white. The other set was a mix of ultra saturated red, blue, and green cut cards. Of course, it was also too pricey for me. Another interesting tidbit at this booth was Marcel Dzama's first little booklet, very simple, going for $500.
Photos From Readers
One-of-a-kind artist's book/portfolio of collage and drawings by Amy Borezo. Drop-spine box contains a series of works on paper that re-utilize imagery found in Holiday magazine from 1940-1975 to consider land and space through the lightness of travel. Cozy slippers, ektachrome color slides and mesas.
Hedi Kyle workshop
I was a little sad to miss the NY Artist's Book Fair this past weekend, BUT I was lucky enough to assist with Hedi Kyle's workshop at the Garage Annex School for Book Arts instead! These are pictures from the numerous preservation enclosures we constructed in only two days. It was an amazing weekend and I'm so glad I got to be there, especially because she said she won't be doing too many more workshops in the future. Hedi Kyle has an amazing mind for creating complex structures through simple means. During the workshop, she told us that she does at least a half hour of paper folding a day to keep practiced. It pays off in her book forms which are sometimes created without a bit of glue--just pure paper engineering.
Novas
A few weeks ago I finished binding 300 chapbooks for Bateau Press. This past Sunday evening, I attended a reading of the chapbook, Novas by Ryan Flaherty. It is always exciting to see a project completed, but I especially enjoy attending readings of books that I work on because I have come to know the written words in a very intimate way. In addition to binding Novas, I digitally typeset the poems and designed the letterpress printed cover. I have designed and printed four covers for Bateau Press and will be working on more in the upcoming year. Bateau has a great new website, too.