Forgotten, Lost and Found

This month I present the creative work of artist Amandine Nabarra who produces unfolding spaces and shares visual stories while living in Southern California.

As artists we frequently exercise our sense of touch to achieve a deeper understanding of an art piece. This is impossible in a gallery environment. After trying to search for more intimacy in her own work, Amandine found her calling — artists’ books — vessels or spaces that reveal a tactile story.

© 2013 Amandine Nabarra. Forgotten, Lost And Found by Amandine Nabarra; edition of 20 numbered and signed

“Each artist’s book needs to be discovered, opened, felt and/or heard. It’s an intimate experience where the reader uncovers his or her own unique relationship with the subject matter”. — Amandine Nabarra

© 2013 Amandine Nabarra. Forgotten, Lost And Found by Amandine Nabarra; pigmented digital prints on Japanese mulberry paper. Housed in a black fabric box with a digital image tipped onto black paper.

We all have a different way to form our book concepts. Amandine starts each book with questions; in her book Tempus Fugit, she asked “Are we resilient as the clouds changing forms and adapting to the weather?”

“Can water be an object and still flow like water?” was answered in the publication, The Bernoulli Equation.

In Forgotten, Lost And Found: “How does it feel to collect our memories or to forget them altogether?” came to mind.

© 2013 Amandine Nabarra. Forgotten, Lost And Found by Amandine Nabarra; a tunnel book in the form of two parallel accordions supported by 6 frame-like panels.

© 1996 Louise Levergneux. My Memories of My Memories (miniature version), chapter 4.

Following Amandine’s information on her latest publication Forgotten, Lost and Found, I was reminded of my very first artists’ book My Memories of My Memories touching a similar subject; the one of childhood memories. I think all types of memories are a subject matter that interests all people.

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When I was young my parents divorced and a few years after their breakup I realized I had lost all memories of my early childhood. I don’t know if I had a problem remembering or if it was a response to the traumatic event. Since then, I have been on a quest to understand how memory works.

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t store memories. We reconstruct them, and this process is quite unreliable. With the help of photographs and family anecdotes, I feel I have recovered many these memories but how real are they?

I decided to create an artist’s book that would illustrate three types of memories: the ones we forget completely, the ones we don’t remember, and those we recover. I chose a tunnel book structure and used the three sides, one for each type of memory. The structure offered a story that could be read in any three ways.

The process of forgetting and losing memories was placed on the side of the structure. I captured pictures of people lost in the night, running, walking and trying to find their way. The cold colour tones add to the doubts of the frantic search.

© 2013 Amandine Nabarra. Forgotten, Lost And Found by Amandine Nabarra represents thoughts and feelings, scenes of vivid memories or forgotten experiences. The depth of the book reminds us of the passing of time; 5 inches x 6.5 inches closed; extends to 9 inches

For the inside of the book, I photographed the tunnels along the freeway that linked Italy to France. It was constructed in the mountains or hills and the tunnels were long, extremely long. I am slightly claustrophobic, so it made me nervous driving for hours from one tunnel to the next. Nonetheless, I used warm colour tones to depict them since they lead to a happy memory recovery.

The depth of the tunnel structure represented the time it took to remember and the hurdles we have to go through in order to reconstruct our memories.

I printed my photographs on a Japanese mulberry paper to convey a sense of nostalgia. The long fibers of this paper created a subtle movement. The images looked matte with a little sheen, and it added a slight blurriness, which emphasized the idea of lost or old memories.

The mix of abstract and figurative photographs taken at night was enhanced by the use of colour tones that bind the images together as it expressed feelings of loss or recovery.

In the process, I found the science of memory fascinating. How we encode, store and retrieve information to make decisions is a complex issue. Some memories might help us; some will haunt us for the rest of our life. As for me, I am happy to have recreated my childhood memories even if I will never know if they are “new memories” of my past or if I've remembered them. — Amandine Nabarra

© 2013 Amandine Nabarra. Forgotten, Lost And Found by Amandine Nabarra; inside view

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Amandine’s success depends upon finding the proper balance between her intuition and her reason. I hope you will find her out of the box thinking and her vision intoxicating!

Have a great month of March! / Bon mois de mars !

Surveillance

I’m delighted to announce the release of my recent artists’ book that considers our privacy and freedom in a social and democratic world.

© 2021 Louise Levergneux. Surveillance, a tunnel book, 7 x 5.25 x 1.5 inches (18 x 13 x 4cm).

« Surveillance » presents the direct result of a three-year collection of security warning sign photos. The key concept started in the summer of 2017 while traversing the US from Boise, Idaho, to Gatineau, Québec. I felt my every move being watched, while travelling across the country. I became more sensitive and aware of the level of surveillance forced upon me. It wasn't that the surveillance was personal, but universal, that presented a dilemma for me. However, it became apparent Google was tracking my digital journey as I researched online. I noticed advertisements from my latest searches as Google kept tabs with bread crumbs history and presented personalized promotional links on the screen. Who’s watching?

© 2017 Louise Levergneux. Original warning sign photo.

Generally, my book ideas come after being blitzed by a subject matter or a visual stimulus. I surprise myself by photographing a similar subject over and over again, till the collection of photos provide the incentive to research in depth what captured my attention.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Original warning sign photo taken in San Antonio, Texas.

Next, various scenarios are played by writing or reviewing photos. I operate with the five principal questions of strategy, which helps to clarify the idea. Habitually these questions are resolved through my thought processes in the early hours of the morning. Once the idea has permeated through, I gather all my photos into Photoshop and the fun begins. This is my tool to design. The software provides to me the freedom to experiment and photography as a medium inspires me.

Next comes the planning of content, size of the page, composition, colours, the materials, structure and binding of the book... It takes a while to digest all these components and start publishing. For me, the structure is what takes the longest to decide and implement.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Figuring out the binding and electronics in Natalie Freed’s studio in Austin, Texas.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A copy of the front cover for the tunnel book, laser cut by Sarah Pike from Free Fall Laser in Adams, Massachusetts.

« Surveillance » was one of the most complicated projects I created. I needed the help of other artists who were knowledgeable in their fields for the book to come together. While visiting Olivia Primanis at The Harry Ransom Center in 2018, the idea of adding electronics to the book came to mind. Olivia suggested Natalie Freed as a contact, who was giving a workshop at the Austin Book Arts Center at the time. Working with Natalie remained a delightful experience, and our meetings brought many possibilities to the forefront and solidified the type of binding. Another conversation during a studio visit with Thomas Parker Williams in Philadelphia, provided me the opportunity to communicate with Sarah Pike from Free Fall Laser in North Adams, Massachusetts. I could not fathom the idea of cutting the windows of the cover page and holes necessary to attach the camera and wires on the book board. Oh, I tried! But this job was better executed by a laser cutter.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The pages of the tunnel book printed and ready to assemble.

Once the components and structure were in place, I concentrated on the five pages of the tunnel book. The fun continued in the world of Photoshop. Printing double sided layouts remain a lengthy process. Registration needs to be checked at least twice before printing the actual image. The printer settings, printer profiles, and the colour handling should be correctly chosen for the type paper used; printers are relatively complex, and they don’t always cooperate. When my Epson works smoothly, the images that roll out are beautiful with crisp and bright colours. I enjoy printing with an Epson Stylus Photo R3000; what you see is what you get — meaning — my images print exactly as they are perceived on the computer screen.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Cutting to size the book board for the binding of Surveillance.

The least fun of my projects is using glue! It's is all over the place. I’m lucky a book is completed without any glue on the cloth! Once the binding, the switch, the colophon, the cover image, the structure were all in place, the end was near. The pleasure of seeing all the components come together is fantastic. Now, I can invite the viewer into a world where personal freedom is infringed by the bombardment of warning signs. Once inside, the viewer’s privacy is usurped once more by a photo captured without permission.

When an artists’ book comes to completion in an effective way, the feeling of accomplishment is tremendous. I can say, done, and it feels great!

Since the project is complete my focus is now on promoting and distributing « Surveillance ». I hope you can take pleasure in the finished product. Enjoy!

As always, thanks for your interest by reading my blog posts.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Inside view.

New Year, New Work

I sincerely thank everyone for the ongoing support during a challenging year. Your efforts to communicate and staying in touch were appreciated.

Two artists whose work has been inspirational start the new year.

Monique Lallier, renowned book binder and book artist, practices her craft from her studio in North Carolina which I had the opportunity to visit in 2019. Last December, Monique emailed me her latest bindings, and I’m happy to present these bindings as part of my first post of the year.

A catalog of an exhibition at the Guilford College Art Gallery in Greensboro, NC, from October 29, 2018, to January 6, 2019, which includes 46 years of fine bindings produced by Monique Lallier is the foundation for this binding. Monique Lallier: A Retrospective is available through Oak Knoll Press.

2020 Monique Lallier. The binding is buffalo leather « reliure buffle » and the kumihimo which form her initials « ML » are inlays. The other coloured leathers are mosaics. Each binding has the same design but different in colour. The book is housed in a silk clamshell box « boitier en soie ».

We all appreciate Monique’s creative and thoughtful approaches to her binding projects. Her use of unusual materials and innovative techniques make her bindings both distinctive and dynamic. During my visit, I enjoyed Monique introducing me to the sequence of narrated and entertaining descriptions and processes included with each creative binding while perusing through the original catalog.

MONIQUE LALLIER: A RETROSPECTIVE. New Castle, DE and Greensboro, NC: Oak Knoll Press and Guilford College Art Gallery, 2018. 8.5 x 11 inches. paperback.Monique Lallier: A Retrospective is available through Oak Knoll Press.

Lallier enjoyed binding one of her favourite books in 1974, Clochemerle by Gabriel Chevalier and illustrated by Dubout. Monique mentioned the illustrations were hilarious.

2020 Monique Lallier. A traditional binding in boards « reliure traditionnelle passer en carton » with signatures mounted on guards « les cahiers monté sur onglets ». Full beige buffalo binding « reliure plein buffle beige » with leather mosaics, lacunose and four of the circles, the largest of which, are decor from the old binding. The book is currently housed in a cloth clamshell box « boitier en toile ».

2020 Monique Lallier. The front cover « plat avant » has an edge to edge lining « doublure board à bord » and fly leaves « gardes volante » in green suede.

2020 Monique Lallier. Back inside cover by Monique Lallier.

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Marlene MacCallum lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, where she focuses on her passion for producing artist’s books. Just before the holidays, Marlene invited me to view her most recent piece Shadows Cast and Present, an interactive digital artwork (please click on the title of Shadows Cast and Present to view.)

Shadows Cast and Present is a project made possible by funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Originals grant program and with the invaluable assistance of Marlene’s two creative collaborators, Matthew Hollett and David Morrish. The Digital Originals program was developed to support artists promote and disseminate their work in the current Covid-19 reality. In an interesting synchronicity, Marlene had been thinking of producing a dematerialized or virtual iteration of her book works as a way to address the challenges of exhibiting and sharing art that takes the form of book-like structures.

What I enjoy about Marlene’s artists' book is the visual interpretation of personal domestic space and the ordinary stuff of daily life; and how she is fascinated by her relationship with the spaces that frame our lives and objects that fill the majority of daily routines.

I also incorporate the common day-to-day events and appreciate ordinary moments of every day, building our history, whether sensational or monotonous. I am fascinated by the concept of personal memory and identity. Those elements are exactly what grabbed my attention in Marlene’s work.

Images of the book work:

2018 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow Canto One: Still Life, by Marlene MacCullum. Handbound artist’s book with slipcase, pamphlet binding with gatefold structure, digital pigment print on Aya, 23.7 × 17.5 × 1 cm (closed dimensions), 2018. Edition of 15.

2018 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow Canto One: Still Life, detail of spread three fully opened (23.4 x 68.5 cm)

2018 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow Canto Two: Graffiti by Marlene MacCullum. Hand bound artist’s book with slipcase, accordion binding with hard covers, digital pigment print on Aya (bird images) and Niyodo (music images), slipcase constructed of stained Tyvek wrapped around eterno boards, 23.7 × 16 × 1.4 cm (closed), 2018. Edition of 15.

2018 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow Canto Two: Graffiti, detail of bird images expanded, 23.3 x 124.8 cm (expanded dimensions)

2019 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow: Incidental Music by Marlene MacCullum. Hand bound book work with image accordion suspended over text accordion. Images are digital pigment prints on Digital Aya, hand-set letterpress poem and blind embossed soundscape letterpress. Case bound with digital pigment print covers. Dimensions: 23.7 × 15.9 × 1.1 cm (closed), 23.6 × 30 cm (page spread). View of the closed piece.

2019 Marlene MacCallum. Shadow: Incidental Music. Detail of the soundscape, embossed letterpress.

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Woohoo! Let’s give ourselves a round of applause for all of our accomplishments ... Being able to create, teach, sell and exhibit in 2020!

To all Health, Happiness and Tranquility for 2021.

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City Shields, 20th Anniversary

I am pleased to introduce the successful completion of a 20-year obsession of photographing manhole covers — the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields. Just in time to celebrate my birthday at the end of the month. Moreover, November is the month the project was conceived way back in 1999 after a September trip to Scotland with my husband.

This celebratory edition began in June 2017 and accurately represents the creative exploration of geographic locations along ongoing travels between 2017 and 2020.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The cover of the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields contains 84 die-cut manhole cover photos; two meandering books (French and English); three inserts and six die-cut manhole covers from past volumes.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The reading experience of this concluding volume is produced through a meandering book (French and English version), and the sensory touch and photographic details of each manhole cover. The distinct images and text weave the story of my obsessive collecting and the series’ progress.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields.

A Short History of City Shields:

In the fall of 1999, a manhole cover piqued my curiosity while on vacation in Scotland. Observing how these manhole covers were different from those back home, they continued to fascinate me. 

Archiving remains a topic in my art work and has been presented in various ways. The collection of manhole covers offered me a novel approach on the theme of autobiography. Photographing only those manhole covers I encountered maintained the autobiographical theme of my artwork in proper perspective.

Between 1999 and 2015, I eagerly photographed over thousands of photos from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Québec, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Manhole covers continued to define fascinating exploration of geographical locations along my own life journey. A cross country trip in 2016, provided an excuse to include distinct cities of Canadian provinces, from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and more volumes of Ontario.

The Design of City Shields Through The Years:

During this extensive on-going project, it was my goal to keep the exact same look and feel for each volume. It was not easy task, as cameras, printers, and papers all evolved through the years.

© 2020 Michael Sutton. Working on the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields, using Photoshop.

One thing that was constant was the workflow, all volumes of City Shields were designed and produced in Photoshop using the same template with small increments of change. Of course, not the same version of the software! Each volume throughout the years was boxed in a clear transparent Zip Drive jewel case, which I purchased thousands back in 2000.

In addition I used Adobe PageMaker then InDesign with Arial Narrow and Futura fonts for the insert; Poiret One font was added to the anniversary edition. All volumes are unsigned except the anniversary edition. The series is unnumbered.

© 2000 Louise Levergneux. The original 7 volumes printed with a DC100 printer on Ivolaser paper in an edition of 100. The 18 manhole covers photos included were die-cut by Capitol Box of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

© 2016 Louise Levergneux. Since 2006, all volumes have been an edition of 25 copies which has included 21 manhole cover photos. I published the volumes on Generation G-Chrome Lustre paper (manhole covers), Aspen Dual Sided Matte and Lasal Papers (inserts) for more control of colours and details.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The anniversary edition contains 84 unbound die-cut manhole covers printed with my indispensable Epson Stylus Photo R3000. The edition contains a meander accordion book with text and photos painstakingly printed on Inkpress paper. A number of duplicate manhole covers and inserts from the past volumes are included. The whole is inserted in a two inch deep transparent acrylic box.

Twenty Years of Capturing Photos of Manhole Covers: 

I began the unique adventure with a strange and new (for 1999) Nikon CP-950 digital camera and a Nikon Coolpix 5900 in 2000. I also photographed with a Canon PowerShot A710. In 2012, the investment of a Sony Alpha 33 D-SLR, my first digital single-lens reflex camera, naturally inspired me. The 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields was captured with my most recent digital camera — a Sony Alpha 6000.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Photo of a manhole cover celebrating Circleville, Ohio’s 100th Anniversary of its Pumpkin Show. This photo is part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Photo of a manhole cover in Los Ebanos, Texas, right on the border of Mexico. This photo is part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. Detail of the 20th Anniversary Edition depicting a manhole cover of St Petersburg, Florida. Photo was taken in January 2019.

What I Observed While Producing City Shields:

• I uncovered the intrigue and fascination provided by these everyday infrastructures;

• I grasped the rapid transformation of cameras, printers, and papers into current pieces of technology;

• I learnt the practicality of artists when developing their designs capturing the history or the resources of a city;

• I established contacts with artists who seamlessly integrated the theme of manhole covers in their work; and finally

• I discovered many people were fanatics about unique designs of manhole covers.

© 2020 Louise Levergneux. More detailed manhole covers from the 20th Anniversary Edition of City Shields.

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With this significant accomplishment completed, I now can concentrate on another unfinished project — Surveillance.

The Treasures of Arizona

Meticulously researching binding structures online a few years ago, I was captivated with Philip Zimmermann’s book work Sanctus Sonorensis, a book of border ‘beatitudes’. This work comments on the complicated attitudes of Americans on illegal immigration from Mexico. Being in Arizona for a few months, I reached out to Philip for a studio visit. But last April, another disappointment came my way when a planned visit to his studio in Tucson had to be promptly cancelled because of the pandemic.

While wandering full time, I relished the valuable experience of viewing artists’ books during my rendez-vous to many library special collections and artist studios. These tumultuous times establish unique challenges and missed opportunities. But, I aspire to continue virtually meeting with leading artists as mentioned in my previous post. Not the same as in person, for sure! But virtual communication, nevertheless, brings creative inspiration and opens doors for new dialogues with artists’ books.

This month 1/2 Measure Studio Blog is featuring Philip Zimmermann’s work for all of us to vicariously experience. Enjoy your visit.

Philip Zimmermann owns and operates Spaceheater Editions in Tucson, Arizona, and has been making artists’ books and multiples under this imprint since early 1979. Zimmermann produces open-edition and limited-edition works that use photography, printmaking and design.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. The front of Philip’s adobe brick house in the Historic Ft. Lowell area.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. Shown above is the exterior and entrance of Philip's main studio area. This adobe addition was built in the summer of 2008 after his move from New York.

Philip Zimmermann in his main studio. Courtesy of Philip Zimmermann.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. Views of the interior of Philip Zimmermann’s main studio area. It is only about 400 square feet plus a small full bathroom.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. This is the smallest studio Philip has ever had. The size of this tight atelier was determined by the amount of land at the back of his home and the HOA (Homeowners Association) rules.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. Living in an historic district, an architect was hired to conform to the building restrictions, HOA rules, the Historic Fort Lowell District as well as the city of Tucson. This didn’t seem like a straightforward task!

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. The only printing devices Philip still has are a large Epson inkjet printer and a colour laser printer. Otherwise, he buys printing from overseas or from local commercial printers. His current book is being printed in France.

© 2020 Philip Zimmermann. The studio annex area which is in an enclosed part of what was a covered porch on the back of his house. This is where Philip does book binding board cutting, wrapping and shipping of books, foil-stamping, paste paper, and hopes to restart his silkscreen practice as well.

© 2015 Philip Zimmermann. Reaper is a meditation on the destructive cycle of violence and war, followed by rebuilding and reconstruction, then war again. This is often followed by yet another iteration of that rebuilding and destruction: a painful cycle that has continued in many areas around the globe throughout history.

© 2015 Philip Zimmermann. The theme for Reaper was inspired by the events in Gaza during the summer of 2014. It is most commonly caused by the friction and antagonism between different religious and tribal/ethnic belief systems and often aggravated by the extreme actions of fundamentalists on both sides and their often rigidly-held and intolerant ideas.

© 2015 Philip Zimmermann. In this book, based on an adaptation of the old Turkish-map-fold structure, text is read on several levels. The outer tabs hold the first ten rather innocuous lines of the primary texts of four specific belief systems. They include the Rig-Veda the oldest sacred Hindu text, the Torah (Genesis) from the Jewish faith (the Old Testament), the first lines of the Christian New Testament Bible, and finally the first ten lines from the Qur’an from Islam. The title of the book refers to both death, as in ‘the grim reaper’, and to the model name of one of the American drone or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) used for bombing in the Middle East and elsewhere.

© 2015 Philip Zimmermann. Reaper is a four-colour archival pigment inkjet-printed book, created as a series of fold-out, modified, Turkish-map-folds, printed on acid-free French Paper Co. stock. Pages hand-cut and folded and cased-in by hand, with board covers; German Dubletta bookcloth spine was used, with inset title. An archival phase-box enclosure is included. Dimensions: 6.5" x 7.5" x 1". An edition of 25 copies, signed and numbered.

© 2014 Philip Zimmermann. Incident in Deseret — on January 5th, 2014, seven book artists were in Salt Lake City to attend the national conference of the College Book Art Association at the University of Utah. A group traveled to Robert Smithson's canonic land-art piece The Spiral Jetty, about an hour or two out of town in the nearby Great Salt Lake. To commemorate the visit, it was decided that each artist who was there that day would create a book with the Spiral Jetty as theme, and complete it within one year – or earlier if possible.

© 2014 Philip Zimmermann. The idea behind Incident in Deseret: “I am fascinated by faith, and how so many religious people throughout the world are able to ignore what many would think of as logical thinking in order to make the leap to belief. In some ways, I admire that ability as it suggests a certain innocence and magical thinking that I am not able to summon up. The danger is when those folks start to think that they are the only people in the world able to communicate with god and travel the true path to heaven. I think of the location of the Spiral Jetty and Salt Lake itself as ground-zero for the Church of Latter Day Saints and the Mormon faith. Although my book uses terminology that comes from the LDS belief (picked due to the location of the Spiral Jetty) I could have just as easily have used nomenclature from any number of other world religions. Stylistically, I think of this book as the meeting of Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville and Chris Marker's La Jetée with The Book of Mormon. Deseret is the original Mormon name for Utah and was originally comprised of a large section of the American West that included not only Utah (and the Great Salt Lake where the Spiral Jetty is) but also large portions of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Brigham Young's petitions to the US Congress to recognize this huge new state were turned down numerous times and eventually became what is now the current, much smaller, state of Utah. Deseret was also a language and an alphabet system that was developed but never widely used during the 19th century by the Mormons. The title also gives a little nod to a classic western book that I was impressed with when I read it in high school, The Ox-bow Incident and another book (and famous short film) called An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge.”

© 2014 Philip Zimmermann. The edition of Incident in Deseret is printed by archival inkjet on uncoated oatmeal Speckletone paper made by The French Paper Company and bound in a drum-leaf binding in an edition of thirty. There is also a digital print-on-demand version on white coated paper. The dimensions on both are 8"x8"x.5". The book was started in Philip’s studio in Tucson and completed during an artists' residency at the Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming, in August 2014.

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. Cruising Altitude is a dos-á-dos (double-sided) book on one side about wanderlust, travel, and the quest for the exotic. The other side covers the darker angle of travel: of being a stranger or foreigner in another country or culture.

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. “The section titled ‘Above’ in Cruising Altitude explores the desire to travel away from one’s normal and humdrum world, to see and experience the different and the exotic.”

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. “There are many complex reasons why we want to travel. Part of what drives wanderlust is an impatience with the everyday and the desire to expand one’s horizons, sometimes to destroy one’s comfortable status quo, to escape, to satisfy one’s curiosity about the world. Travel makes one more tolerant, perhaps even promotes peace between cultures and nations.”

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. Cruising Altitude.

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. Cruising Altitude.

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. “However ’Below’ (the other, mirror, section) is about the flip-side of wanderlust. In Cruising Altitude the traveler, displaced person, or foreigner encounters a virulent and often jingoistic resistance from the inhabitants of the new locations that one enters as a visitor. Terms for ‘the other’, usually derogatory or demeaning, appear over photographic views looking down from airplane windows. Although I believe this to be universal, living in Southern Arizona on the border with Mexico I am very aware of this viewpoint in some of the local state population. In addition to the feelings that I have about this subject derived from my current living location, I was the child of an American diplomat. Although I grew up loving the many different places we lived, I never fit in to any of them, nor felt that any one of the places we lived was my home, always feeling like ‘the other’, and that includes the United States itself.”

© 2011 Philip Zimmermann. Cruising Altitude was published in an edition of fifty. The text-block interiors and end-sheets were printed by HP Indigo. There are gold and silver metallic foil titles on both covers. The book was bound by hand with archival book board and Kensington premium bonded red leather, designed to look and feel a little like the old Baedeker travel guides that were extremely popular in Europe in the late 1880s through the 1930s. The dimensions are 5"x8"x.5". Each book comes in an archival gray phase box.

© 2003 Philip Zimmermann. Nature Abhors is about loss, the inevitable by-product and, (perhaps pessimistically) the final result of life and love.

© 2003 Philip Zimmermann. “In the previous four years I had had a great deal of loss in my life with both my parents dying (one by a hit-and-run car), 9.11.2001 and all that meant for anyone living in New York, plus romantic complications in a relationship where the two of us did not need or want the same thing. This book is a rumination on what loss has meant for me personally and also what I have found has been a more universal feeling of loss since 9.11. Although the book contains visual references to the twin towers, it is determinedly not about that disaster but more about the collateral damage from that period of time on personal relationships, and ways of moving on from that loss.”

© 2003 Philip Zimmermann. Nature Abhors.

© 2003 Philip Zimmermann. Nature Abhors is 5.25 x 5.25"; printed by HP Indigo on Mohawk Superfine paper. It is 30 pages long, in a hand made slipcase and comes in corrugated-paper fold-out archival phase box. The woven spine construction is based on a model developed by Claire van Vliet from a form originally created by Hedi Kyle. The photograph on page six was taken by Elizabeth Alderman, all the others and the text are mine. To be read through on one side, then on the reverse. Accordion-folded, each sheet affixed to the next with paper tabs illustrated with segments of spinal vertebrae. Both the slipcase and the book are signed and numbered by the artist in an edition of 150.

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I graciously appreciated Philip Zimmermann's time and especially the possibility of sharing is work with all of us. Philip’s new book entitled Swamp Monsters is a series of distorted photos of the president and his flunkies at the Republican National Convention; printed on newsprint with a high speed Kodak inkjet at PRINTNEWSPAPER in France.

Swamp Monsters is already on sale in a number of book outlets including Printed Matter in NYC.

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

While driving down the East Coast, the plan was naturally to stop over and meet artists’ book makers and binders. For the last few years, I have looked forward to this intended trip.

Finding myself in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I promptly seized this unique opportunity to visit Thomas Parker Williams. Every artist’s meet-up is a terrific experience and Thomas' studio visitation did not disappoint. My husband and I were welcomed in Thomas and Mary Agnes’ home and studio with great hospitality. This was invariably a fantastic visit! I immensely enjoyed viewing works that have inspired me online over the years.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Mary Agnes Williams and Thomas Parker Williams in their home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Thomas’ studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Thomas has a wonderful recording studio.

Thomas Parker Williams of Luminice Press has efficiently created almost 100 artists' book editions and unique book works since 1998. He is inspired by different sources including mathematics, music, literature, theology, design, philosophy, astronomy, history, natural sciences, architecture, and Eastern thought.

His working processes include reduction linocut printing, etching, letterpress printing with hand-set metal type and hand-cut and polymer plates. He equally enjoys digital printing, paper cutting, laser cutting, and painting with oil and aqueous media. Music and sound are elements found in many of his pieces usually composed, performed, and recorded by Thomas, himself. In addition to music CDs, some of his publications have companion videos. Thomas has developed a unique structure, appropriately entitled the cascading rotary structure, which can be seen in his book “Revelation.”

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Revelation by Thomas Parker Williams, edition of 5; seven sided wood case, laser-cut face plate, copper panels with patina and laser transfer design; 10 printed laser-cut (by FreeFall Laser); panels with mechanical parts for actuation.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Thomas Parker Williams designed and built a hand press with electronic gauges, also called the Luminice Press.

In 2009 Thomas started collaborating with his wife Mary Agnes Williams, a pinhole photographer. And, in 2013, Thomas and Mary Agnes started Luminice Press, incorporating letterpress printing in artists’ books and broadsides.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Corinna’s Going a Maying, edition of 10, poem by British lyric poet Robert Herrick, published in 1648; eighteen pages on Twinrocker hand-made paper; pochoir images; text is hand-set in Park Avenue ATF, letterpress printed; bound with ribbon; silkscreened hand-made paper; concept, design, typesetting, and printing by Mary Agnes Williams; design, illustrations, printing and binding by Thomas Parker Williams.

Pinhole photography is apparently simple and direct, but it can yield complex images. With no lens or viewfinder, the pinhole camera allows me to explore and create mystery and ambiguity — in many of my photographs, the images appear to be emerging from, or about to enter, another time or place — Mary Agnes Williams.

Like Thomas, Mary Agnes has a constant source of creative inspiration and distinct pleasure—the iconic bridge over the Schuylkill River in her local Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk. 

Mary Agnes shoots with film, black and white and colour, using her pinhole cameras above: clockwise from top right: a 4 x 5 “Santa Barbara” made by the Lensless Camera Mfg. Company of Santa Barbara; a 35mm converted Mamiya/Sekor camera; a 120 format “Zero 2000” handmade by Zero Image, Hong Kong; a 120 format “Zero 2000 – Zone Plate Version” handmade by Zero Image, Hong Kong; and a 120 format handmade by Thomas Parker Williams.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Venice: A Gallery of Pinhole Photographs by Mary Agnes Williams, a 44-page book featuring 45 color and black and white pinhole photographs of Venice, Italy. This signed digital copy 68/75 was gifted to me by Mary Agnes.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Paradise Lost, a unique book, accordion bound; original ink drawings on 20 sheets of Twinrocker Da Vinci Heavy Text handmade paper; custom wood container with a copper nameplate; original music composition was composed, performed and recorded by Thomas Parker Williams.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Soundings, unique book, 40 original ink and wash drawings on Twinrocker handmade paper; three eccentric volvelles, each with three parts in case with cover (original painting done with dry pigments in oil medium on aluminum panel); the music is a composition in three movements, composed, performed and recorded by Thomas Parker Williams.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Vessel of Secrets, edition of 2; structure: No. 1: binding board and Tyvek; No. 2 aluminum and Tyvek; exterior panels: embossed copper sheet with patina.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Vessel of Secrets, edition of 2; twelve paintings in alkyd medium and dry pigments on paper structures outlined with Venetian marbled paper; digital printed text.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Vessel of Secrets by Thomas Parker Williams, unique book; twelve original drawings in acrylic ink on handmade paper; binding is copper sheet with patina and letterpress image over binders board; printed and hand-set text by Mary Agnes on Not Quite White paper by Twinrocker and Mowhawk Via for interleaving and endpapers.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Voyage by Thomas Parker Williams, edition of 3, No. 1, 2 & 3 - original scroll water colour and ink paintings on tyvek; scroll dimensions 5" x 120" enclosed in a wood container with brass handwheel, panel and mechanical parts.

All my studio calls have presented me with very generous artists who love sharing their work space, processes, and their insightful artists’ books or bindings. It’s fantastic to observe their work in person and take in these creations in an intimate setting—their studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux.

I left with my hands filled with gifts, a digital copy of Venice, A Gallery of Pinhole Photographs (previous photo above) by Mary Agnes Williams; 12 Artist Books, Vista da Santa Maria della Salute, Vessel of Secrets Universal Principles Twelve Drawings, and Icarus by Thomas Parker Williams—did I mention the generosity of these artists?

Laser Cutting in Massachusetts

As mentioned in a previous post, I collaborated with FreeFall Laser located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts for the cover page of Surveillance—my tunnel book project. 

Sarah Pike of FreeFall Laser was great to work with and efficient as she typically focuses on each specific customer with a personalized service. 

Our initial communication started with a brief consultation by email describing the project from which Sarah asked for samples of the page with printed images on the exact substrate chosen for material testing.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Inside my artists’ book Surveillance—a mock-up.

My images for this project were reproduced on Moab Entrada Rag Bright paper. This is a double-sided archival acid and lignin-free, 100% cotton fine art paper. My question was “would this fibrous paper be a problem for the CO2 laser cutter”?

Double sided images need to be precisely registered for the desired effect to be successful. After figuring out the perfect registration, I sent a package with ten double-sided printed copies, hoping no difficulties would arise during the laser-cutting process.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Consulting with Sarah Pike for the cover of Surveillance FreeFall Laser in Massachusetts.

When the work for Surveillance was completed, I promptly decided that picking up the work directly from the studio would naturally give me the unique chance to socially meet with Sarah in person. The plan for the first phase of my journey was to visit FreeFall Laser after I crossed back into the US following my two month stay in Canada. 

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sarah Pike showing me around FreeFall Laser.

Sarah’s approach combines artistic experimentation with technological experience to create exceptional work for fine artists, designers, conservators, bookbinders, artisans, woodworkers, and museums. It was a tremendous experience to see Sarah’s studio and her state-of-the-art CO2 laser cutter.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sarah’s studio and her state-of-the-art CO2 laser cutter.

I was so excited when I picked up my precision cut covers that we discussed the distinct possibility of laser-cutting the binding for my creative project. I could not fathom cutting the exact holes for the electronics and faux camera another 8 times through binders board. What a life saver!

Visiting FreeFall Laser provided me the opportunity to observe some of Sarah’s own art work—what a treat! A lot of her art work is laser cut marquetry in wood veneer. Sarah also designed a beautiful sample book to demonstrate her CO2 laser cutter capabilities.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sarah’s sample book demonstrating the capabilities of her state-of-the-art CO2 laser cutter.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sarah’s art work using laser cut marquetry in wood veneer.

On my initial contact with Sarah, with due diligence, I wanted to view some samples of artists’ books or bindings created with the help of FreeFall Laser. 

© 2019 Sarah Pike. Laser cutting of the The Radiant Republic by Sarah Bryant at FreeFall Laser.

© 2019 Sarah Pike. Laser cutting of the The Radiant Republic by Sarah Bryant at FreeFall Laser.

© 2019 Sarah Bryant. The Radiant Republic by Sarah Bryant, built entirely out of language found in Plato’s Republic and Le Corbusier’s The Radiant City.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Reason Belief Truth by Thomas Parker Williams, binding, French split goat skin, laser-cut binder's boards; edition of 12.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Reason Belief Truth by Thomas Parker Williams; laser cut painted with ink and watercolor; letterpress printing (hand-set type, polymer plates) by Mary Agnes Williams; marbled paper.

Wynn Bullock images © 2019 Bullock Family Photography LLC. All rights reserved. Wynn Bullock: Relativity: Wynn Bullock and Albert Einstein, edition of 15; published by 21st Editions; binding by Peter Geraty and Julia Rabin with production assistance by Tim Faner.

Wynn Bullock images © 2019 Bullock Family Photography LLC. All rights reserved. Wynn Bullock: Relativity, 9 bound and 9 loose, platinum estate prints, 1 signed vintage silver print.

I was content to get back to work, after my informative conversation with Sarah. Next phase—prepare the boards by covering them with Canapetta bookcloth, measure all the positions of the holes... so Sarah could make my vision a reality...

Austin Studio Tour

In the last 3 weeks, I have been exploring the final details and the artistic expression of my last and upcoming book Surveillance. Surveillance naturally began as a direct response to all the security camera warning signs in our social and democratic world. 

When an artists' book’s specific concept comes to mind, one has to identify the intent of the book and how it will work.
Is the idea behind the work successful?
Are the feelings accurately conveyed?
Is the specific binding a perfect format for this book?
Is the content designed to create a pleasant experience for the reader?

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Time based electronics for my artists’ book Surveillance.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Last details on the electronic components for my artists’ book Surveillance.

Since Surveillance comprises an interactive component, there were more details to keep in mind. How much time should be allocated for the inside of the book to be revealed? 
Is the familiar sound revealed at the proper time? 
Are the electronics the appropriate ones?
How will the reader relate to the predetermined structure? 
Will the reader encounter the visual and/or textual information in the proper order? ...

Is the element of surprise well planned? 

Will the reader be able to manage or manipulate the book properly? ...

Some of these questions are on going, others were ironed out during a working session with Natalie Freed, while in Austin in early April.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Quercus Virginiana know as the Live Oak Tree, New Braunfels, Texas.

Texas has been a very productive and artistically inviting place for me. During my trips through Austin, keeping in touch with certain people, depending on life demands is important. 

I have enjoyed French lunch with Olivia Primanis and other staff of the Ransom Center during my past visits. This time, I was invited to tour the studios of Olivia Primanis and Christopher Hynes — one of the highlights of my week in the area.

Olivia Primanis retired from her official position of Senior Book Conservator at the Harry Ransom Center last January. These days Olivia finds contracts to execute special projects to keep up with her considerable skills in conservation and preservation.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The studio of Olivia Primanis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Olivia Primanis has many wonderful tools of the trade in her studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Another view of Olivia’s studio space.

Two different studios with two diverse artistic expressions under the same roof, where creativity abounds.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A gallery tour in Olivia Primanis and Christopher Hynes home. Christopher talking art with Michael Sutton.

Christopher succinctly explains his creative work:

My assemblages and collages are puzzles, incorporating my color paintings and using found objects, the aged and broken bits of our culture's debris, that explore life and the world we live in. I like to juxtapose artifacts that are incongruous but that work together in an intriguing way around a central theme, which is sometimes serious and political, sometimes whimsical and humorous.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Entering Christopher’s studio space.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Many objects and colour on display in Christopher’s studio space.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Fascinated by various small items adorning the shelves in Christopher’s studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Art work by Christopher Hynes.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A work in progress with many of Christopher’s tools.

Next stop Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are interested in a visit please let me know.

Meeting artists and visiting their studio is one of the most wonderful part of touring the country.

Till then I will be admiring the sunsets in Gila Bend and Sedona, Arizona.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sunset in Gila Bend, Arizona