Destroying books has traditionally been seen as a brutal, almost inhumane, act. Is it possible that instead, book destruction can be turned into beautiful and inspiring works of art? That's the premise behind a new book from distinguished designer and photographer, Julius Friedman. Titled simply, The Book , Friedman's latest project is an art book made possible by the sacrifice of several other beautiful books for the pieces within. " The Book project was inspired by Gail Gilbert, the art librarian at the University of ...
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Destroying books has traditionally been seen as a brutal, almost inhumane, act. Is it possible that instead, book destruction can be turned into beautiful and inspiring works of art? That's the premise behind a new book from distinguished designer and photographer, Julius Friedman. Titled simply, The Book , Friedman's latest project is an art book made possible by the sacrifice of several other beautiful books for the pieces within. " The Book project was inspired by Gail Gilbert, the art librarian at the University of Louisville Library, when she gave me a bag of books she was discarding," Friedman noted. "She thought I could tear them up and make collages or an art project. I told her I was not a collage artist and, being a book designer, I could not tear them up. After months of them sitting in my basement and Gail saying, 'Do something with them, ' I made my first deconstruction and collage," he added. Those first collages grew into a body of work, and later, a limited edition of 20 books, all hand-sewn and hand-bound, using hand-set type, letterpress, and tipped-in photographs--and a box made of cherry wood to house each copy. The "run" sold out immediately. "After that project, I continued to make collages and decided to do a coffee table book that people from all walks of life could afford, enjoy, and experience," the artist added. The result is stunning. In 130 beautiful photographs, Friedman gives his torn-apart and twisted books fascinating shapes and structures, some lit from within or without, ranging from the abstract to the concrete, and from the visceral to the intellectual. "I looked at the book from its beginnings to the current and emerging world of the Kindle and other electronic tablets, intuitively keeping in mind the sacred word, censorship, holding an object, its tactile way, even the smell of a book," he stated. The Book will be loved, ironically, by book lovers who will recognize how the artist has harnessed the tactile power of books and transformed them into new and moving forms for his art.
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New. No Jacket. Inscribed by Author(s) Oblong 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Tall. Artist's Book; #11 in Special Edition of 20 books; signed on the Colophon by Julius Friedman, artist, graphic designer and photographer; Gray Zeitz, printer and owner Larkspur Press; and Carolyn Whitesel, binder; Diane Aprile, editor; 24 full color photographs by Friedman printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art archival 100 percent cotton paper 310 gsm; writings by 24 nationally and internationally recognized poets, essayists, fiction and non-fiction writers; 2 different original pieces of Friedman's work with 1 on photosensitized aluminum adherred to front cover and 1 on copper plate on rear cover; composition and printing by Leslie Shane and Gray Zeitz at Larkspur Press; handset in Garamond and Ratdolt type and printed ona hand-fed C & P on dampened Hahnemuhle Copperplate paper 300gsm; binding by Carolyn Whitesel with exposed spine binding, signatures handsewn with waxed linen thread around black tape, covers of black Japanese book cloth over boards with attached already noted original art plates; book contained in a handmade cherry wood box by John Reeb with an inset on lid of original art by Friedman on photosensitized aluminum.