Stacks
Books stripped of their contents become shells, authoritative public voices now quiet. Libraries pulp pages from old books, now easily replaced by digital versions, and throw away their hardback covers. In these Riso prints I pair images of discarded covers with phrases from my mother’s handwritten notes as she progressed through dementia. Erasure is a key element in these prints, removing parts of their physical history just as my mother lost parts of her history and herself.
Special thanks to Jarrah May, Tyler Riso Technician.
Without, riso prints with erasure, 2021, 15 ¾ x 41 ¼”
Based on cover of a discarded book containing a collection of writing by Henryk Sienkiewicz, the 1905 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Book Designer: Unknown.
Wrong, 2021, riso prints with erasure, 21 ¾ x 20 ⅝”
Based on cover of History of Art, Mediaeval Art, by Elie Faure. The original binding was designed by TEDESCO, for Garden City Publishers, 1937.
3 Min One Topic, 2021, riso prints with erasure, 8 ½ x 39 ⅞”
Based on cover of a discarded copy of Il Convito, by Platone. Edited by Linda Untersteiner Candia, BMM Publisher, 1950. Book Designer: Unknown.
Reread, 2021, riso prints with erasure, 20 ⅞ x 15”
Based on the cover of a discarded copy of an Italian collection of Comedy by Publius Terentius. Published by S. A. Notari Istituto Editoriale Italiano , Versione di Giovanni Lattanzi, 1928. Books from the Collezione Romana, series included illustrations by artist Duilio Cambellotti. Book Designer: Unknown.
Wane, 2021, riso prints, 10 ¾ x 15”
Based on cover of a discarded copy of La Vita, by Benvenuto Cellini. Book Designer: Unknown.
Inasmuch, 2021, riso prints with erasure, 22 x 15 ⅛”
Based on the cover of a discarded copy of an Italian collection of Comedy by Publius Terentius. Published by S. A. Notari Istituto Editoriale Italiano , circa 1928. Versione di Giovanni Lattanzi, 1928. Books from the Collezione Romana, series included embellishments by artist Duilio Cambellotti. Book Designer: Unknown.
Word, 2021, riso prints with erasure, 15 ⅛ x 20 ¾”
Based on cover of discarded copy of History of Art, Mediaeval Art by Elie Faure. The original binding was designed by TEDESCO, for Garden City Publishers, 1937.
One to One, 2021, riso prints with drawing, 15 x 10 ¾”
Based on cover of a discarded copy of La Vita, by Benvenuto Cellini. Book Designer: Unknown.