Safer Code
Safer Code, 2014 / Unique / Cut & stamped altered copy of Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer
Size: 9” x 5.5” x 1” (box) with bag of cutouts
I enjoyed ‘writing’ the unique artist book, Safer Code, by cutting into Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes. It was not an easy task, as the two previous iterations are such outstanding material: both Bruno Schulz’s fantastic language (from Street of Crocodiles), with Foer’s transformative editing. A red dot was stamped on the edited book to indicate each location that a word or punctuation was excised. The end result is yet another narrative, a story cut out of two previous ones.
Against the Blind
Against the Blind, 2015 / Unique series of 3 / Collaged texts (from Tree of Codes) on Dobbin Mill papers
Size: 6.4” x 9.25” x 0.75”
In 2015, I decided to use the shards of excised words & punctuation in the making of Safer Code to create another text. Against the Blind is the result of this latest foray in creative editing. The first copy contains the actual cutouts; the other 2 in the varying edition, have digitally reproduced bits & pieces.
Additional Information:
Since this artist book was a deconstruction & appropriation practice, I thought it apt to appropriate materials from several of my earlier editions. I chose the format used in "Moxie" (2007), a small edition about duplicity that was made on the reject papers from "Just 30 Words" (2005/6).
Missing in this exhibition is another book, "Found Object Diary" (2014). This artist book takes deconstruction yet another step: The story from "Safer Code" is divided into sections, each corresponding to a piece of detritus chosen with that text in mind -- one each day -- in my ambulatory mapping in my neighborhood. The found material was embedded into the pages of the book; the map of my walk was pulp painted on the inside of the front cover. Each copy of "Found Objects Diary" varies visually & metaphorically; the text remains the same.
