You are here
Artist's Book
1992 (published)
1992 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This exquisite little book is encased within a blue silk covered carrying box, complete with a carrying cord so that it can be worn as a constant companion around the neck. A tiny compass is inlaid into a perspex window, behind which a recessed front compartment contains a series of miniature found objects including a hand holding a swinging pendulum and a pair of die. The themes of life as a journey and the chances we take are implied even before the box is opened. The book it contains opens to reveal a kind of pocket prayer book for the soul. The pages unfold in a complex, map-like structure and contain map imagery and a sequentially numbered text that helps us to navigate around the 'twists and turns of the human heart'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | You are here (published title) |
| Materials and techniques | Folding book, letterpress printed, bound, carying case bound in blue silk witn brass clasp, silk carrying cord, perspex panel and found objects including die, compass and sculpural hand |
| Brief description | Artist's book, 'You are here', by Julie Chen, Flying Fish Press, Berkeley, Calif., 1992 |
| Physical description | Artist's book based on the allegorical idea of life as a journey. Three leaves fold out into the image of a map surrounding the book. Sewn with green thread into boards bound in blue woven silk, decorative stitching on spine. Textured gold-coloured end-papers. Paper label with 3-dimensional metal star affixed. In a box bound in blue silk, fastened with a brass clasp and with a plum braided silk carrying strap; incorporating a blue-tinted perspex panel with a compass let in to the centre, below which the title design includes found objects: a hand holding a pendulum and dice. Letterpress printed on Fabriano Roma. 27 pages NAL copy is no. 34 in an edition of 100 copies, signed by the artist. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Julie Chen (born 1963)
California-based Julie Chen was a leader in the late-20th-century flowering of book art. Since founding the Flying Fish Press in 1987 she has produced artists' books with an emphasis on three-dimensional and moveable structures. 'You Are Here' includes a carry-case set with a compass and a fold-out map for navigating an emotional landscape.(05/11/2019 - 04/04/2021) |
| Summary | This exquisite little book is encased within a blue silk covered carrying box, complete with a carrying cord so that it can be worn as a constant companion around the neck. A tiny compass is inlaid into a perspex window, behind which a recessed front compartment contains a series of miniature found objects including a hand holding a swinging pendulum and a pair of die. The themes of life as a journey and the chances we take are implied even before the box is opened. The book it contains opens to reveal a kind of pocket prayer book for the soul. The pages unfold in a complex, map-like structure and contain map imagery and a sequentially numbered text that helps us to navigate around the 'twists and turns of the human heart'. |
| Other number | X930232 - NAL Pressmark |
| Collection | |
| Library number | 38041993108018 |
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| Record created | February 13, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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