City Shields

June 5, 2016

I have been working on publishing 16 new volumes of City Shields that have been sitting on my desktop for too long. These volumes will be part of my residency and installation next March, 2017 at MING Studios. Many of these photographs were taken in 2012, when I travelled cross-country from my hometown in Canada back home to Utah.

In a day, I can prepare the photos of 2 volumes, bring them in different templates and copy and paste the information necessary for the index. So it should take me 8 to 10 days to complete the second phase. Printing will be next. I hate the printing phase, dealing with my printer these days demands too much patience to make it fun. I’m always happy to see the results when no problems arise from a finicky printer.

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, working in photoshop and InDesign with photo files and templates

From the start of this project, I kept in perspective the autobiographical theme of my artwork. It was important to trace my journey through life, where I was going, and where I travelled. Hence the insert included in the jewel case of each volume with an index showing the location of each manhole cover—plaque d’égout—photo is taken.

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, inside an insert of a Montréal, Québec volume

When a volume is purchased, the reader can walk or drive to the first manhole cover on the index and continue her/his travel following in my footsteps.

To keep this information, my husband, Michael has been the data record keeper since the beginning of City Shields. While I take photos in sometimes less desirable places—middle of a boulevard on a green light. Michael takes notes that will make it easy for me to copy the address or intersection where each manhole cover is located.

© 2006 Louise Levergneux, Michael writing data in Québec City

When I first started my project, cameras did not display date and time information. So I put together a booklet with numbers to keep track of the photos and their information written in the data journal.

The data journal is used to create the index for each volume. This little book can never be lost!! It caries precious details of the covers even drawings describing a particular manhole cover. I sometimes forget my booklet with numbers at home. This creates a big di·lem·ma! Sticky Notes are handy on these occasions, but often fly in the wind. They don’t stick to the pavement.

© 2013 Louise Levergneux, in Bozeman, Montana at W Grant St and S 7th Ave without my trusty book of numbers. — © 2013 Louise Levergneux, in Bozeman, Montana at W Grant St and S 7th Ave without my trusty book of numbers.

I have in the past returned to the scene of the crime to realize that an older cover was removed and paved over. Why? What's under a manhole cover? What happens to the vault/chamber under the cover? Is it filled in or just rendered obsolete?

Visit down a typical manhole in this video.

Older underground utility vaults/openings used to house access points for inspections, valve adjustments or performing maintenance may be removed because of newer technology. Since the 90's, there's been a big overhaul job on older water and sewage systems which were collapsing. As technology evolves and becomes part of every facet of our lives, the city replaces old manhole covers with more striking design covers.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, held an “Art Underfoot” design competition back in 2004.

The elaborate designs are created by artists with a point of view on their environment. “Ironclad Art Challenge” was the newest competition in Vancouver.

Richmond, British Columbia, followed suit with Mayor Malcolm Brodie unveiling the winning manhole cover design last April at Richmond City Hall. The Cover Stories manhole cover art contest brought in 150 entries in 2014.

Last November, the City of Calgary launched a call to artists seeking professional artists to develop designs for new manhole covers as part of the manhole cover lifecycle replacement.

Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, Calgary, London, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto have also turned streets into public art sites by the embellishment of manhole covers.

As I write this post, my obsession increases. My ambition is to travel and capture these wonderful manhole covers designed by artists.

I need to get back to work and start the next phase as planned.

Manhole Covers

May 30, 2016

Last sunday was a fun two hour drive and walk in the refreshing warm weather of Idaho. Photographing manhole covers of the City of Eagle is the start of my residency for MING Studios.

When one starts a project, one must define the information and materials needed to create the final product. In the last 16 years, I have developed a method of organizing the creation and publishing of every phase of the volumes.

If you are wondering how this project is created, the next few posts will uncover the tools used to create each volume of City Shields.

It all starts with camera in hand. Back in 99’, I built a large collection of manhole covers with a Sony Mavica digital camera. I continued photographing the entryways to the world beneath our feet.

My next camera to continue my obsession was a Nikon CP-950, then a Nikon Coolpix 5900. In 2008, I acquired my fourth digital camera, a Canon Power Shot A710. I decided in 2012 to try my hand at a D-SLR and purchased a Sony Alpha 33. It was time to grow-up and get serious in photography. The Sony Alpha is the in·fa·mous camera I wrote about in my first few blog posts at the beginning of the year.

from left to right: Nikon CP-950, Sony Mavica, Nikon Coolpix 5900, Canon Power Shot A710 and the Sony Alpha 33  D-SLR — from left to right: Nikon CP-950, Sony Mavica, Nikon Coolpix 5900, Canon Power Shot A710 and the Sony Alpha 33 D-SLR

When weather permits, hiking the streets can be a long day. Manhole covers can be few and far between, depending on the city--few photographs taken and lots of walking is done. After a year of walking/hiking, in 2000, my husband, Michael, and I decided to speed up the process and cruise the streets with scooters. That didn’t last long! It was fun but, hey! The hills were killers!

We still walk the pavement and drive around when we have too much area to cover in a short period of time. Topaz, our little Sheltie, has accompanied us since 2002 and often her shadow can be seen in a photograph of a manhole cover.

I take photographs of our presence during these walks for future reference. I can’t help myself!

© 2010 Louise Levergneux, manhole cover on Main Street in Salt Lake City, Utah

© 2012 Louise Levergneux, manhole cover in Albequerque, New Mexico, year of the tricentennial.

Oops! This isn’t a manhole cover but we're here standing on Historic Route 66!

© 2010 Louise Levergneux, in Santa-Rosa, NewMexico on Historic Route 66.

The major dilemma of this ongoing project is the forever changing technology. I try to keep a similar look to the original seven volumes, but differences are clear since digital cameras and printers continue to evolve.

With that said, I am running out of plastic Iomega Zip Disk jewel cases used for my slick presentation of each volume. Does anyone know where I can buy more? I know they are no longer manufactured; but a few must be hanging around somewhere.

Let’s continue next week with other tools used to publish the volumes of City Shields.

Art Is Visionary

May 22, 2016

I keep myself occupied by planning the phases of my residency for City Shields, The Incessant Journey. Publishing of other artists’ books will be on hold till I can get my planning and life together. This needs to happen before I leave for my annual trip back home to Ottawa/Gatineau, Canada in August.

Here is the invitation for the show at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland entitled Wanderlust. This show will be exciting, I have already seen the catalogue and it looks great. Laura says—It’s going to be a fun one! I'm glad to be part of it.

In between everything, I write and meet artists and photographers in my new environment. I needed a break from my activities, so I joined a group to listen to a panel discussion on letterpress. This is the first time in my art career I hear the term COMMAND P referred to as a bad word!

What!

After the third time, I couldn’t keep my cool. Argh!

It’s sad and conservative to use a medium in a “pure” method when it hinders discovery. If purity is what you choose that’s fine. An artist should be able to express themselves with the medium that suits them best.

I found my preferred medium with the release of the Macintosh computer in 1984. It intrigued me. I was teaching in the Graphic Arts department when the computer appeared in our classrooms. I established that the foundational classes were important for the students to be successful in creating their designs with software. The Mac became my tool of expression and its mouse became my brush, pencil, palette… it involves a different method of delivery, that's all.

In 1999, I visited La Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec in Montréal to introduce my first artists’ book My Memories Of My Memories to the library. My Memories Of My Memories is inkjet printed. I found it progressive of Sylvie Alix, the contact person at the time, to accept books published by a petite presse—small press, c’est a dire computer generated books. It’s a new era!

I have been communicating with Ann-Marie Cunningham. Her education was like mine and encouraged progressive and innovative means towards producing quality from earlier methods with sensitivity to time and efficiency. Ann-Marie holds the utmost respect and regard for foundational letterpress bookarts. Curiosity and feasibility has been instrumental in her pursuing digital books using an Epson 9900, Epson 1400, and the Hewlett Packard Deskjet 3510 printer. Digital printers allow printing on thicker materials such as metal, plexiglass/lexan 1/16 inches (1.58mm) and wood veneers such as birch, 1/32 inches (.39mm). Advances in technology enable exploring printing on acetates, vellums and Tyvek.

Using these materials present challenges. Colour testing can be expensive. Monitoring ink levels many times to eliminate colour fluctuations can be frustrating and the drying time on plexi is long. The most expensive problem that may arise would be to compromise an ink jet head.

In touching upon typesetting considerations as the 'purer' forms of bookmaking I understand the premise, but find the ‘slight of hand’ combined with the mechanization in digital printing just as intuitive, captivating and impressionable.

Having experienced printing on the Vandercook SP-15, I enjoy the qualities ‘pressing’ affords and the engagement of the process. I don’t find digital printers a disruptive form in explorations and prospects. Digital programs, sketching, overlaying different techniques and different materials increase the versatility of book forms.

In her book Threshold, the covers are printed with an Epson 9900 and the book pages printed with the Hewlett Packard 3510 printer. Ann-Marie uses the durability of plexiglass to imitate the aspects of a windows reflectiveness and translucency.

Threshold considers the window and door constructs that offer the view into modernity.

Ann-Marie’s Saudade book is a reversible accordion book about the longing that results from changing locations and significantly remixing essential memories. Using a textured, lustred Tyvek offers the difference in tactile experience from each signature printed on a ‘toothy’ Koz-shi white paper with an Epson 1400. Ann-Marie believes the process should be expressed through the book.

© 2016 Ann-Marie Cunningham, Saudade, covers printed with the Epson 9900 — © 2016 Ann-Marie Cunningham, Saudade, covers printed with the Epson 9900

The sample writings of both books are Ann-Marie’s attempt at prose, free verse and poetics.

My vision of the digital book entails subtle expressions of forms. The visual contrasting the written word. Printers afford diffuse and articulate techniques and colorations that respond in synchronizing different aspects with each other, like saturation and hue in balance allowing use of diverse substrates. I also feature the tactile aspects of paging through a book in response to materials that a wider audience may have previous associations with. These digital books are transitional.

I applaud the technology that was innovative in earlier eras and commend the craftsmanship and proficiency of the presses and type development. In my use of science and technology as applied/implied to conveying subject matter through application, I am compelled to explore and acknowledge the new technologies.

Just as there are several manufactured intaglio press types; printers articulate diverse attributes toward certain quality outcomes equally subject to the ‘slight of hand’ and vision of an artist. In a wholesomeness of the art world, art is not exclusionary, art is visionary.

Ann-Marie’s concept of “slight of hand’ incorporates the magician’s ability to distract your attention, while synthesizing the distinctively unique mix of technology.

Wonderful work and philosophy!

Next week, I'm back to manhole covers. Till then happy creativity!

Residency and Installation

May 15, 2016

Great news, MING Studios in Boise, Idaho, invited me to carry out a residency and installation of my project City Shields next February 2017. MING Studios is an international contemporary art center and residency program that exhibits, explores and experiences contemporary arts and culture.

Next year might seem far away but, it will come fast! Thinking of this residency, I have a gazillion things to do.

My residency will happen during winter season, even though Boise is very temperate, the city still gets snow. Ok a few inches, nothing to talk about compared to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where the temperature resembles Moscow, Russia weather!!

With that said, taking photographs of manhole covers in winter would be no fun. I prefer to see flowers and feel the sun on my back as I walk the streets. So I’m starting now. Michael, my husband and Topaz, our little Sheltie, we will discover the city while I take photographs of manhole covers.

© 2013 Louise Levergneux, in North Dakota

If you see me in the middle of the street with camera in hand, please don’t run me over whether I’m in open range territory or not. Smaller than a horse, cattle or other livestock, I could be mistaken for a sheep, but not as woolly. There is an open range law for the road here. As a matter of fact even a goat has the right of way in Idaho. Drivers beware!

The goal of my installation, City Shields, The Incessant Journey, is so visitors to the gallery can uncover their cityscape in a brand new fashion as I bring to light the manhole covers of the city.

For those of you who are not familiar with my project, City Shields is an ongoing photographic documentary series that takes viewers on walking tours through urban streets. To explore new environments, I seek and photograph local manhole covers in every new city I visit or live. I use this ritual as a vehicle of discovery. Now an obsession of mine, the project comprises more than 52 volumes and over 1,000 photographed manhole covers.

So, here I go on a 9 month journey to develop my residency and installation at MING Studios. Every week I will give you an update on my fantastic journey towards this installation. Here I am with my trusty companions, Michael, my traffic guide and data collector, and Topaz who watches for distracting passers-by—other canines on the street.

A detail of a favourite manhole cover found in Utah:

© 2011 Louise Levergneux, Salt Lake City, Utah

Have you ever looked at your city with a different eye?

What catches your eye as you walk the streets of your own city?

Installation of Artists' Books

May 8, 2016

I’m enjoying the Spring season with camera in hand. Hiking at the top of Avimor’s foothills—the view is amazing. Here is a shot of my house, can you see it? Which one! The one at the end of the street, on the left.

Spring is a time for new ideas and they are abound. These new ideas are a curse, sleeping is no longer a restful time to rejuvenate but a time to reflect—go wild, completely wild. Thoughts never stop and my mind jumps from one thought to another. I create whole artists’ books that keep me occupied throughout the night. These incessant thoughts that come and go, giving me no rest—ideas, ideas and more ideas! The more I write, the more I research, the more I get ideas!

With life and my activities, I’m getting behind in my blog posts. I finish a post and the next thing I know I need another for the week ahead. The great news is in my search I may have found the biggest artists’ book installations which I’m sure you will love.

Artist Nicole Pietrantoni who works and lives in Walla Walla, Washington, explores the complex relationship between human beings and nature via installations, artists’ books, and works on paper.

I’m glad to see that Nicole uses different methods for her finished product that lead to an exciting visual feast. Her works combine digital and traditional printmaking techniques. Nicole says this of her work.

Rather than a fixed site or a single image, I seek to engage nature as an accumulation of processes, perceptions, and narratives—a dynamic and shifting site open for interpretation

Nicole is guided in her research by the following questions:

What stories shape my interaction with and understanding of landscape and nature?

How have cultural and historical scripts, media, and technology disciplined me?

How does a lineage of art history influence a particular way of picturing and making images?

And finally, what stories do I contribute in my work as an artist to this discourse?

I enjoy her thoughts on the printing process of this period of time:

To be an artist working with printmedia today is to have a particular orientation towards replication, distribution, and representation. As printed matter is an increasingly ubiquitous part of our visual culture, printmaking as a fine art continues to expand and encompass a broadening definition. These complexities demand I question how I see, picture, and frame the world around me.

Working out of a long lineage of artists interested in the landscape, in this body of work, Nicole presents to us Implications. This installation is 9 feet x 33 feet with 30 inkjet printed accordion books folded and bound that expand to create a panoramic image of icebergs in Iceland.

The text in the books simultaneously reads as both a poem (Risk[,] Event[,] Disaster) written by Devon Wootten and an official report on climate change, Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. The installation aims to draw attention to the means of making such images by enlarging halftone dots and disrupting the image through folds, cuts, and ruptures. Referencing 19th-century panoramas and the Romantic painting tradition, this work nods to a period when the relationship of humans to the landscape was rapidly transformed.

Similarly, today’s changing landscape demands that I examine the tension between my enjoyment of beautiful, idealized landscapes and an awareness of their ecological complexity.

© 2013 Nicole Pietrantoni, Implications, printed on Awagami Inbe Thin — © 2013 Nicole Pietrantoni, Implications, printed on Awagami Inbe Thin

Precipitous is a series of five handbound accordion books that expand to create a life-sized panoramic image of a rising sea. Precipitous is 14 feet x 6 feet and each book has 22 pages.

© 2014 Nicole Pietrantoni, Precipitous, inkjet on Awagami Inbe Thick

With a specific interest in printmaking’s historic relationship to representation, in this work Nicole gives a sign that humans play an active role in constructing and idealizing landscape. Pushing against the notion that nature is/was pristine, wild, or untouched, Precipitous gestures to a “post-natural” relationship to landscape. Nature can no longer be seen as something set apart from humans, but is instead something we fundamentally alter and continue to shape.

As books, the works suggest the authority of the encyclopedic approach in the cataloguing of natural specimens. As an installation, they dismantle sublime images through cuts, folds, and halftone dots. The overlaid poems by Devon Wootten are appropriations from reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The text draws on the language of the report, Climate Change and Water.

Nicole's new work is entitled Havened, 84 inches x 84 inches x 5 inches with 9 accordion books.

What an Aha! moment viewing Nicole’s installations?

How do you explore your relationship with nature?

Large-Format Continued

May 1, 2016

Tabatha Hawks from Hawks Nest Photography and I decided to go for a hike and photograph the surrounding foothills around Avimor, Idaho. Here is my favourite picture.

In the last few weeks, I have found many books created in large-format. If you have answers or comments to the questions below please don’t be shy and send me an email or a comment.

What dimensions are you comfortable working with, small or large? After working and experimented with size, I’m going with small!

What moves you to create big? A personal dream to publish the biggest book. It probably has to be one-of-a-kind. Who would want to publish a large edition of a large-format book?

Have you ever had problems binding large books because of the width of the paper or cloth?

What drives an artist to create a book? The idea or the dimensions? I start with an idea most of the time. My Memories of My Memories was a special case, I started with the dimensions necessary for the concept. The dimensions were chosen so grown adults would be aware of their size—small—holding this large family album.

Do the dimensions of a book limit sales? Library & Archives Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, acquired my book My Memories of My Memories, it took eleven years for them to decide, Eh! Geez! Hmmm! But they did...

Galleries have a dimension restriction for call to artists why is 18 inches in any direction the limit size?

Do you know of any shows for the large-format? Should we get one organized?

Do libraries collect artists’ books with particular dimensions in mind?

Is your inventory space big enough for other large-format books? Well, my Half Measure Studio no longer has the storage room for big books.

Uh!...

Whatever makes us want to publish in large-format, we need to try.

Another artist who has made large-format a part of his work is Thomas Parker Williams. Thomas portrays his subject in a way that affects the deepest part of your soul, either through nature, fire, wind, light, rhythm even a love affair. His work includes handmade artist book editions, unique book works, printmaking, and painting.

Williams is both a musician and a visual artist, so no surprise that his artist book editions contain an audio element—music or sound work. All parts of the sound work is composed, performed, and recorded by Thomas.

Fire Book is 24 inches by 18 inches closed. The materials used to create this book are oil and acrylic on paper, enamel on mylar and bound with cloth with painted cover. Fire Book is an experiment about the mystery of fire. Seven unique painted flame studies are paired with seven unique transparent Mandalas. The final Mandala is on the cover.

1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book, cover — 1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book, cover

1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book — 1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book

1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book, detail — 1998 © Thomas Parker Williams, Fire Book, detail

Natural / Un-Natural is a small book when closed with dimensions of 7.75 inches by 12.5 inches by 1.75. This book comes in a custom wood and polycarbonate case and is 23.25 inches in diameter when opened. The book consists of original painted panels executed with dry pigments in alkyd medium on paper arranged in a circular accordion structure with twelve double-sided sections and Tyvek hinges.

The twenty-four painted panels represent events affecting our environment and actions exacerbating these events. Each panel is divided into two sections to give two possible visual interpretations. Events described by the panels are: extra-terrestrial impacts, solar storms, volcanic activity, eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, wind, dust storms, rain, flooding, hurricanes, storm surges, tornadoes, blizzards, drought, wildfires, earth shifting events, glacier melting and calving, permafrost melting and sea level rise. The climate is changing, we cannot control the events that threaten our environment but we could have controlled our actions. Now we may be powerless to stop this process!

2015 © Thomas Parker Williams, Natural / Un-Natural — 2015 © Thomas Parker Williams, Natural / Un-Natural

My visit to Thomas’ website brought me to an amazing book—Jasper's 72 Triangles, a book that is 26 inches by 30 inches unfolded.

Closed and in its box the book is 9 1/2 by 11 by 2 inches. This book is made of cut paper and Tyvek painted with metal pigments in oil medium and presented in an acrylic box.

Jasper's 72 Triangles inspired by the recent "Number" reliefs by Jasper Johns. Starting with the concept of a single number in a discrete area, in this case a double-sided triangle, and then connecting 36 double-sided triangles together, the book-painting becomes dynamic by folding into many configurations of triangles for display. The work uses only the numbers of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 0. Adding the displayed numbers together results in a sum that is a multiple of 12 or 36 or 72 in many of the possible triangle combinations. A folding diagram is provided as an aid to returning the book to its correct folded state to fit into its acrylic box.

Has these books affected your soul yet?

Now, I have to find the biggest book. Check next week and see if I found it.

Another Large Book

April 24, 2016

Lots of time this week was spent trying to integrate my website server with MailChimp (an email marketing service) with no luck. I have decided that spending so much time on a company that only cares for paying customers is not a good use of my time. My preference is to communicate with artists and create my books. So I have had to resort to the old fashion way of announcing my new blog posts.

Now to better news, I’m happy to announce the winners for subscribing to my blog posts. The first subscriber Peggy Seeger (brave soul) is the first winner of a volume of City Shields, the 15th subscribers after are: Ka Mahina, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, and Monique momo Moore-Racine. The numbers tell me I’m close to another volume give away, so please subscribe.

As an artist my ideas come from my surroundings. Subjects are numerous and I’m captivated by the themes that ignite the beginning of an artists’ book. How do you choose your themes? Where do your find your ideas?

I took 10 years to create a series of nine artists’ books entitled Equinox—books on the mundane of daily activities. I started in the spring of 1998. The first book of the series began after the death of my father. This experience reminded me of missed moments. Each book is not large per-say (9in x 11in x 4in deep) (23cm x 28cm x 10cm deep) but the years it took to finish these volumes were too many.

Nowadays, no matter what project I begin, my husband always teases me, “Think small!”

Continuing on this fascinating journey of large format artists’ books, a book that caught my attention was Elizabeth McKee’s book Assault of Angels. I was curious about the inspiration behind the book since I had as you know just gone through a major move last summer!

Artists’ books no matter their size, they reflect personal and heartwarming ideas. Elizabeth inspired by a poem and a decision to move her home across the world. From these experiences Elizabeth created Assault of Angels, a 22in by 3 in by 10in (56cm x 94cm x 25cm) deep accordion book that weighs about 70 lbs (1.9 kg) without the box. When opened Assault of Angels is 33ft (10m) long. The longest opened book I have seen yet!

Elizabeth clarifies... « In the late 80s around the time when my husband talked about moving us from Ottawa to Bangladesh. I found a poem in The Faber Book of Modern Verse edited by Michael Roberts, an English poet who died in 1948 of leukemia.

I remember sitting in our living room in Ottawa telling a visitor I was “very comfortable here.” So the line in the verse “A time comes when the house is comfortable and narrow” resonated with me. I wanted to paint angels as a mighty force signaling the fantastic size and power of the unknown, not creatures that sit gently on one’s shoulder. The images needed to break out of the pages. I started with twenty (22in x 30in) (56cm x 76cm) sheets of St-Armand cotton paper which I thought might eventually be framed and hung together. The folly of that idea dawned and the Japanese Screen Hinge binding saved the day. »

© 2010 Elizabeth McKee, Assault of Angels — © 2010 Elizabeth McKee, Assault of Angels

© 2010 Elizabeth McKee, Assault of Angels, acrylic paint and gesso on handmade paper mounted on foam core board which is backed with Ugandan bark cloth — © 2010 Elizabeth McKee, Assault of Angels, acrylic paint and gesso on handmade paper mounted on foam core board which is backed with Ugandan bark cloth

It took 10 years and four moves for Elizabeth to publish Assault of Angels.

What moves you to create?

More Large Format Artists' Books

April 17, 2016

Artists work on their own most of the time and wear many hats. Being queen and king of our domain we are free or are we? This freedom comes at a price—loneliness. As artists no matter what medium we work in, the solitary state of the studio comes into play. We are tough, it may take a while but in the end we get inspired by the world around us.

Look what I found in Boise! What will I do with this? Have I found home?

Last week I introduced Christopher Kardambikis’ large format accordion book Mundus Subterraneus. The first time we communicated I mentioned I had recently relocated from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Boise, Idaho. My blog post was a way to communicate with other artists. Christopher responded he had recently made a move himself to New York City from Los Angeles in a similar attempt to get to know more people making books and zines and such he started up a radio program. His program is at Clocktower.org. Paper Cuts is an exploration of the contemporary world of zines and DIY publishing. Hosted by Christopher Kardambikis himself, each program features writers, performers, and artists who have shared their work in print, on paper, and in small editions. This experience of reaching out and talking to many people has really been one of the best things he has ever done. So please listen to his program and find out how Christopher finds artists and writers discussing their practice, studio, daily rituals, and their work fascinating.

After communicating with Christopher I decided to send a call through the BOOK_ARTS-L mailing list by Peter D Verheyen to find other artists who create artists’ books in large format. The response was wild I could not keep up with the emails popping in my inbox.

I enjoy hearing the ideas behind books, and the stories that inspire them. Let me present to you Alex Appella’s, The János Book. Alex writes on the reasoning behind her large book that took 12 years in the making.

© 2006 Alex Appella, The János Book, 8.5 inches x 25 inches x 1.5 inches closed and over 4 feet opened — © 2006 Alex Appella, The János Book, 8.5 inches x 25 inches x 1.5 inches closed and over 4 feet opened

« How long is 90 years?
From the silence of its long black cover, The János Book opens, and explodes with what had been unspeakable for over 70 years.
“90 years is long enough to be a child in World War One, a man in World War Two…”
“90 years is long enough for secrets to last 70…”

My Hungarian grandparents emigrated to California in 1931. They passed away before I was born, but left a legacy of questions that began to surface in our home in the 1980s. By then, the only remaining family member who could answer those questions was János (pronounced Ya-noash), my grandfather’s youngest brother, who had emigrated from Transylvania to Argentina in 1949. The questions were innocent enough. My mother always believed she had only two uncles—János and Imre. But then a photo of four young men was found among my grandfather’s things. Three faces were familiar. Who was the fourth man?

In 1994 I traveled to Argentina to meet János, to ask the questions. The answers—the secrets—revealed our identity, and revealed the pain of lying, even to protect those you love. The János Book not only encompasses a family’s history, it reveals the man who, at the age of 90, decided to tell it. The reader is taken on a journey from Oregon to Argentina, to Transylvania, and beyond. Original letters, photographs and paintings entwine János’ testimony with my poetry to reveal a family’s identity whispered away two generations prior. »

© 2006 Alex Appella, The János Book — © 2006 Alex Appella, The János Book

And then Alex brought to us a second book of identical size The János Letter, an interwoven volume, a continuation of events.

© 2006, 2012 Alex Appella, The János Book and The János Letter — © 2006, 2012 Alex Appella, The János Book and The János Letter

© 2012 Alex Appella, The János Letter — © 2012 Alex Appella, The János Letter

Alex explains... « I worked for many years researching, writing, and creating The János Book. Over a decade. It's the project that brought me to Argentina originally in 1994, to speak with János, my grandfather's brother. János was the only elder living who could answer questions that arose in our home in the US after going through my deceased grandfather's things.

After nearly 20 years of accompanying this project, I was rather certain I had written and produced all that could be written and produced. But then, in May of 2014, I received a letter in the mail. From János.

He wrote it to me in 1983, and due to a string of incredible events, as only real life can offer us, it showed up on my doorstep last May. János passed away in 2003.

The letter from János, both its arrival and its content, was too incredible to not bring to the readers of The János Book. As a writer, and a book artist, it was a new challenge to revisit a work I believed to be finished, and create a book that is...a prologue? ...an epilogue? I leave it to the reader to decide. However it is labeled, both books are now inseparable. One depends entirely on the other. Not only did the new book design need to mesh with the very large János Book in English, it needed to mesh with the much smaller trade edition in Spanish. It was a unique challenge. »

It takes courage to make two books of this size. I have decided—small books and small editions are the way to go. What do you think?

What creates your history/herstory? We all have interesting backgrounds, how do you portray yours?

Welcome Bienvenue

Hello, my name is Louise Levergneux, I’m a book maker. This blog is where I share and reflect on the approaches and structures used in my creative process, artists' books, photography. and more...

Your comments and stories are welcome.

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