parable
“In every age, humankind imagines itself to be moving through a period of transition so acute that the effect borders on the dysfunctional. Our own age is no exception. We long for a simpler past, or for a more focused future, but the fact is that every era is one of profound change, and it is now our turn.” Ross Atkinson
Early north and eastern African bookbinding methods are continued in Africa and in Israel by Ethiopian crafts people. This survival is an exception to an entire Eastern tradition of book craft that has disappeared. Yet the perennial features of the earliest codex are still with us. Now the qualities of the sewn boards binding type with its easy opening action and flush edge cover and text has reappeared in high speed binding for computer publications which must lay flat at the keyboard. The adaptability of this ancient structure to face-down scanning for conversion to digital images is also relevant.
As important, the role of the early codex as both transmitter and witness of content suggests the self-authentication of the physical book which has re-emerged as a crucial attribute in our own era of screen simulation and transient messages.
april workshop
History, Art and Technology of the Book; The story of the book is 2000 years old and there is no conclusion. This workshop will explore the invention, evolution and refinement of the familiar book. We will also consider the prospects for the future of the book including a happy compatibility between the physical book and its other presence on a computer screen.
flour sacks
Job printing in small towns included printing flour sacks with eye catching design. Today the t-shirt is the printers’ medium.
Cafe Press
The identity of the commodity is more ambiguous.
planet book
In a book store each one is in competition for recognition. Each book stands alone just like the shoppers. As we read we also notice this exclusion. Even though multiple copies can be read simultaneously by many people, we read books one at a time. Rereading also has constraints and a century could transpire before a book is reread. This arms-length, one-on-one with readers is a dynamic of self-regulation and a sign of life. A graceful companion. And even when we look into the book store at a window, as if seen on a screen, we are still standing on planet book.