One of my high school English teachers had the class memorize this quote and recently it’s popped back into my head. In sharing that space with thinking about sculpture I remembered a number of mixed media pieces I’d seen done involving various parts of books. So I went in search of some pieces and tried to figure out why this layering of the written word with images and shapes intrigued me.
On my way I discovered Lisa Kokin an artist who among many other things has a number of different book projects including altered books, mixed media books and book collages. In discussing her works Kokin says that “ [Her] work is about memory and history, both personal and collective, and the area in which the two intersect. I am interested in representing the human condition by using the objects we leave behind.” (Kokin, 2006). This was best seen in this piece Our American Way of Life (Kokin, 2006). What struck me about this piece was the handwritten notes in the book which left a personal touch and a personal history. I especially found this interesting in conjunction with the cut outs on the same page that imply a community or even a lost community.
Our American Way of Life
Mixed media book collage, 16 x 15-1/2 x 1/2, 2006
An important part of these works is questioning the relationship of the visual piece and the words featured in the piece. In the case of Kokin, when words are specifically placed they are often the name of the work being presented as seen in Some, Found (Kokin 2006). Kokin says about her work, “It gives me great pleasure to subvert the original meanings of books which were written to keep people in their place, and to do it with humor and levity.”
Some, Found
Mixed media book collage, 13-1/2 x 10 x 2, 2006
For more of Lisa Kokin's work please see http://www.lisakokin.com.
I'll have to go to her site. This sounds like potent stuff.
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