Previous Readers

''Design a bookwork based on an existing book containing marks from a previous reader. "

Artists' books are works of art realized in the form of a book. They are often published in small editions, though sometimes they are produced as one-of-a-kind objects referred to as "uniques".
Artists' books have employed a wide range of forms, including scrolls, fold-outs, concertinas or loose items contained in a box as well as bound printed sheet. Artists have been active in printing and book production for centuries, but the artist's book is primarily a late 20th century form.

"Artists' books are books or book-like objects over the final appearance of which an artist has had a high degree of control; where the book is intended as a work of art in itself." Stephen Bury^[1]

A number of issues around the artist's book have been vigorously debated. Some of the major themes under examination have been:

1. Definition of the artist's book: distinguishing between the terms 'artist's book', 'book art', 'bookworks', 'livre d'artiste', fine press books, etc.
2. Where the artist's book "should" be situated in relation to Craft and Fine Art traditions.
3. Where to put the apostrophe.
4. When is a magazine a book? Some examples of "artists' books" provided on this page (such as Theo van Doesburg's De Stijl) are magazines and not books at all.

Makoto Yamada - L'Estranger 

An outsider reading the outsider. A reproduction of the novel The Outsider by Albert Camus, based on the words highlighted by the previous reader. What a brilliant concept. The final piece is absolutely stunning. 


Still thinking of what sort of genre book i should mimic. SIGH.

“When we read a book, it is always the physical volume in our hands—or in some substitute for hands—that is being read. That reading is a hands-on experience, we well understand, but what is to be said about artists taking hands to the book as object, transmogrifying it and separating it from readability? Garrett Stewart thinks deeply about the experience of reading, and how memories of reading hover over the altered book, or as Stewart calls it, bibliobjet, once it has been made into an object of art. Bookwork is an eloquent survey of the conceptual parameters of the bibliobjet and the multitudinous ways by which artists of the book object bring forth other orders of its reading.”—Buzz Spector, Washington University

Bookworks can also generate graphic metaphors for the textual experience they prelude, becoming in this sense legible after all. 

“Bookwork is a bold, imaginative, and passionate study of the works of sculpture and installation art that are either made out of books or that reference books as cultural icons. No one has taken the study of book objects into as detailed a discussion as Garrett Stewart, who uncovers these objects’ important relation to conceptual art and the tradition of the readymade. Bookwork bridges art history and the sculptural tradition at the edge of the field of artists’ book production—creating a vivid link between these two communities. It will find a ready audience among those who study and practice the art Stewart explores.”—Johanna Drucker, University of California, Los Angeles

“Garrett Stewart focuses on the kind of book art that renders the book a physical object rather than a medium for reading with a thoroughness and theoretical sophistication that are unmatched in the literature on the subject. In its scope, erudition, and felicitous blend of museum stroll and sophisticated analysis, this book will engage and delight a much wider range of readers than most scholarly monographs. Sustained, original, intellectually stimulating, and often brilliant, Bookwork will become the source to consult on this topic for years to come.”—Sabine Gross, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“This fascinating work will change the way readers think about books and their purpose.”—Choice

Books I should look at for inspiration:

Medium to Object to Concept to Art - Garrett Stewart
The Book as an Instrument - Anna Arnar

Further Research - Looking at Ulises Carrion : The New Art Of Making Books

WHAT A BOOK IS
A book is a sequence of spaces.
Each of these spaces is perceived at a different moment - a book is also a sequence of moments.
A book is not a case of words, nor a bag of words, nor a bearer of words.
A writer, contrary to the popular opinion, does not write books.
A writer writes texts.
The fact, that a text is contained in a book, comes only from the dimensions of such a text; or, in the case of a series of short texts (poems, for instance), from their number.
A literary (prose) text contained in a book ignores the fact that the book is an autonomous space-time sequence.
A series of more or less short texts (poems or other) distributed through a book following any particular ordering reveals the sequential nature of the book.
It reveals it, perhaps uses it; but it does not incorporate it or assimilate it.
Written language is a sequence of signs expanding within the space; the reading of which occurs in the
time.

A book is a space-time sequence.

After reading this abstract by Ulises Carrion I have a new appreciation for language, literature and poetry.

Kiss of Death

Halloween!

so many people... so little time to kiss....

xxx

Visual Outcome Ideas

'Fun Shui' kit - making Feng Shui a fun colourful activity - nevertheless an idea like this wouldn't reflect my dissertation at all as it doesn't really implement my results of colour therapy.

This is quite interesting - the power kit looks like a small feng shui kit that comes with a ba gua mirror and few intructions/steps on feng shui. I quite like this idea. 

A hanging lamp with different colour accetate that reflects the acetate colour and design around the room. I feel like an idea similiar to this does reflect my dissertation. I was hoping as my final visual outcome, to create a colour therapy light that came with different colour filters (acetate). Thus the user can change the different colour, and the room would become that colour because of the light. Additionally with the light would come with explanations of the different colour theories that were suggested in my essay accordingly the user can use the colour theory they believe to heal them or create an emotion or whatever they were hoping to gain from the colour. 

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Final Dissertation Visual - Chromotherapy Light 

How Colour Theories affect us - Modes of Design

My study explores the psychological impact that colour can have on our choice, and the different theories that suggest colours can influence our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state. All the different theories outlined in this thesis are debatable as what may evoke one reaction in one person, could evoke an opposite reaction in another. My aim was to study and further examine how colours affect us, concluding thus that colour is a phenomenal subject with no end to it’s mystery. It is up to each individual if they believe in the colour theory to follow and accept it’s proposed ideas. From all the theories, Colour Therapy seems to be the most universal, popular and what I find most credible through my research, implying that there is more of a market for Colour Therapy. Throughout history as well as currently, it is widely practiced as an alternative to the orthodox psychological treatments, thus seeming appropriate my visual outcome is influenced by my findings and opinion.

Thus rooting from my findings and belief, I wanted to give someone the gift of experiencing colour and presenting something that makes the user interact with colour in a pleasant way.  Without giving drastic tips to paint a wall, or change the bedding in one’s room as most likely that would not have the same impact as colour illumination. Producing a colour therapy light would provide people with a revitalizing source of radiating energy. The idea came about through the concept of illumination, a room can be transformed for healing, health, relaxation, inspiration, protection and balancing energy without actually painting the wall of a room to make it colour accentuated. There are three different colours filters or transparencies (red, yellow and blue) that can also be overlapped to create the users desired colours.

Additionally I created a Colour Therapy Light user guide to be read briefly about the subject and purpose of the light and how to use the light. It’s a great gift to give and a great gift to receive, thus leaning towards sparking up someone’s life with colour and educating them about the impact of the colours.

The packaging of the Colour Therapy Light in a colour filmed frame box was purely a decorative and matching the theme decision, to keep the packaging consistent with the colour illumination theme of transparencies everywhere throughout, unifying the whole theme and idea and purpose behind it. A box seemed most appropriate as I wanted it to be a gift item, thus something simple, classy and attractive qualified as my final criterion.

The dissertation acts as a complementary inside information on how different colour theories affect us, its dark blue hardback as making it black, would make the box look too “black” when you first open it which could give a negative impression, red and yellow would be too loud or if it was multi-colour for that matter. Thus blue seemed the most neutral and appropriate colour for the book. The font ‘Univers’ was used throughout the whole dissertation, as the font seemed very legible especially if one was too read through it under the colour therapy light to create a mood whilst reading. It’s the golden boy of typefaces used on electrical products or medical related themes, using this font trying to portray alternative natural healing method and co-ordinating with the colour illumination theme seemed most appropriate. Yellow, Blue and Red Transparencies were included in the beginning of the dissertation as I thought it would be interesting when the reader first opened the book and saw these transparencies, matches the theme of colour illumination film and makes it interesting to see through the title using those colours.

Throughout this exploration, I wanted to reveal that Colour does have an affect on us, and through colour illumination one can experience the beauty of colours and how it can change uplift our happiness and health.