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High tension

Artist's Book
1993 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The pages of this book are skewed along alternate diagonal planes and bound in a cruciform structure so that the text reads from bottom left to top right, then from top left to bottom right and so on. Some of the pages have die-cut serrated edges, like sharp teeth, whilst other pages are designed to look serrated, adding to an overall sense of aggression and confusion. An unsettling array of photographs depicting abstract shapes, scenes of disaster, leering faces and curiously banal objects have been digitally manipulated to create a bewildering onslaught of imagery. On each page a single line of text slices through the maelstrom of shapes and colours.

The first half of the book lists a contrary set of emotional states and physical symptoms suggestive of someone suffering under the pressures of life, before coming to the conclusion, 'Stress has you by the throat'. The second half of the book seeks answers, a series of conditional ideas to relieve stress are followed by the words, 'everything would be okay'. The repetition of these forms of expression becomes a soothing mantra, before coming to the ultimate conclusion, 'Whatever doesn't kill you makes you strong'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHigh tension
Materials and techniques
"Prepress production has been done entirely on the computer ... Aldus Freehand was used for type, Adobe PhotoShop was used for image manipulation amd color separation, and Quark Xpress was used for layout and to combine all the elements ... Photos were scanned on a desktop flatbed scanner, type and layout were all done on the Macintosh computer" information taken from order form.
Brief description
Artist's book 'High tension' by Philip Zimmerman, Visual Studies Workshop, New York, 1993
Physical description
Artist's book printed using three colour-process inks (cyan, yellow and magenta), by offset lithography, and smythe-sewn in six signatures. Some pages have die-cut serrated edges. Pages bound in a cruciform structure. Lexatone cover, foil-stamped.

96 pages.
Edition of 1000 copies.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20cm
Summary
The pages of this book are skewed along alternate diagonal planes and bound in a cruciform structure so that the text reads from bottom left to top right, then from top left to bottom right and so on. Some of the pages have die-cut serrated edges, like sharp teeth, whilst other pages are designed to look serrated, adding to an overall sense of aggression and confusion. An unsettling array of photographs depicting abstract shapes, scenes of disaster, leering faces and curiously banal objects have been digitally manipulated to create a bewildering onslaught of imagery. On each page a single line of text slices through the maelstrom of shapes and colours.

The first half of the book lists a contrary set of emotional states and physical symptoms suggestive of someone suffering under the pressures of life, before coming to the conclusion, 'Stress has you by the throat'. The second half of the book seeks answers, a series of conditional ideas to relieve stress are followed by the words, 'everything would be okay'. The repetition of these forms of expression becomes a soothing mantra, before coming to the ultimate conclusion, 'Whatever doesn't kill you makes you strong'.
Other number
X930150 - NAL Pressmark
Collection
Library number
38041800121782

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Record createdFebruary 6, 2014
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