Much appreciated

Not only has a press ("Hercules") come my way, but Roger has also passed to me his bookbinding tools and supplies. Among the books was a catalogue from "the binding place in Hitchin" (Russells, with all its leathers) dated 1975 - and a handwritten receipt for a long list of items purchased, including some of these.

Book du jour

Tiny offcuts of a double-layer corrugated cardboard. I was intrigued by the cross-section showing the layers, and wondered how the channels could be used to hold it together. When the book is closed the spine looks fabulous.

But - what to put on the pages? And I'm thinking about what to do with those rough top and bottom edges.

Small is beautiful

The fabric samples, printed in black or white or red, are "too good to use" - I like to sort through them and lay them out in patterns -

Perhaps they are meant to be books with no pages - held together with bondaweb, two pieces would stand up on their own, and have a distinct outside and inside.

The idea of "empty books" is inspired by seeing this ceramic piece.

Two views

These composite pix (click on them to enlarge) show two ways of using the same viewfinder. They arose quite by chance, through a bit of paper with a half-cut square lying on an interesting background, and the thought "what else is under there".

In this series, it looks like a door has opened to show what's in the room or outside the building -
whereas here, the lid on a box has lifted to show treasures inside -
The pattern is all part of the rich accumulation that has built up on the textile printing table.

Found materials

The large sheets of yellow paper may be silicone-coated on one side; they feel so buttery-smooth! The sandpaper is quite a contrast. And the grid that once held labels really speaks to me.

They now live in the "this might come in useful someday" box.

Turn a library sideways

It's on Madison Avenue, New York - more pix and info here. (The books are printed on tiles.)

In case you're concerned about the 'waste' of books in architectural projects, here's an interesting statistic - 90% of books donated to charity shops get pulped rather than go on the shelves for resale.

Book caf

A cafe attached to a bookstore - the wall is lined with open books. Not only does it look great, but the books will cut down on the espresso-machine and dish-clattering noise levels! (Don't get me started on those noise levels...)

More pix of the caf here; as a comment mentions, it's reminiscent of Richard Wentworth's 1995 piece "False Ceiling".

This week at college

The seminar at X Marks the Bokship (how lovely to sit around a table with flowers on it!) was about self publishing - part 1 - the production side (next week, the promotion side of publishing).

Books fit differently into the art world with its galleries than they do into the literary or information world with bookstores. And what is "publishing" anyway - could it be as simple as showing the work, perhaps in a series of exhibitions; does it depend on distribution channels; can you publish a one-off book.

Snippets: the benefits of working with independent publishing companies (eg AND or Bedford Press); the task of talking to printers; the advisability of artists with gallery representation setting up an imprint as a way of making work that doesn't go through the gallery. Strategies for paying for books (do they ever recoup their costs?); printing technologies, eg risograph, and their limitations/possibilities; print on demand; working with a designer; spec sheets.

Because I know a little about commercial publishing (and would quite like to make editions of books-yet-unwritten), I found this really interesting, but it could seem overwhelming, dull - or pointless - to someone approaching book making from a different angle. The issue remains: who are your audience? how do you reach them? -- questions for next week.

This week's lecturer was Dan Hays, who is working on his PhD on the interface between digital technology and painting. He became known for his paintings of guinea pigs - and won the John Moores prize in 1997 -

His landscapes started from a photo of snow, and he appropriated some images from the internet - fuzzy stills from videos that he found on the website of another Dan Hays, in Colorado - and painted them pixel by pixel to make distorted, impressionistic images -

In this twice-reflected made-up image is that the sun is tonally the same as the background -
in monochrome, it disappears -Artists that Dan mentioned: Joseph Beuys's 1974 performance with a coyote (photo here and video here); the Hudson River School of painters; Andy Harper; Helen Sear; Susan Collins' electronic landscapes; Christiane Baumgartner's woodcuts; Tim Head.

A whole day of printing on Thursday - more results in a separate post, but for now here's a piece that came to life when the black lines were overprinted with pale blue. The red marks happened to be on some newsprint lying under the cloth, and rather suggest that this cloth needs a bit of red -
Also, a session with the steamer - I brought in some fabric that had been printed long ago with procion dyes, and pinned it to paper to put in the steamer -

The results, after steaming, washing, and ironing - most of these pieces are destined to be overprinted with "my lines" -

Today is reserved for getting sorted, especially "documenting my documentation" - keeping track of projects started, finished, abandonned, in progress, forgotten - via printing out blog posts and photocopying relevant pages from my notebooks, then putting each project in its own folder. This could take a while -
Why the documentation? Firstly, for memory's sake - I seem to need to write everything down, and it's good to have a chance to review it. Secondly, because some documentation, a reflective journal, is a requirement of the course - and it's meant to include critical discussion of exhibitions attended. Thirdly, predilection: a personal proclivity to indulge in trying to be systematic -- no system = loss of control; with limited memory capacity, it's good to be able to find things.

Silhouette and setting

Latest display in the vitrines of the college library is by Mi-Young (mongAries is her nom-de-plume).
Silhouettes combined with settings - they speak for themselves -
It's great to see my fellow students building up a body of work focused on their project.

Ducks in a row

Delightful bakelite measuring cups, found among various vintage "must-haves" here.

Bookshop

The artist is Gerard Williams, via Handel Street Projects.

It's on Woburn Walk, WC1, near Euston.

Book du jour

Playing around with holes in the pages -
(Maybe all you need is shadows...?)
Sometimes the interest is in the offcuts -

Back from "Madrid, Spain"

Hello, I'm back from my mythical trip to Madrid - thanks to everyone who phoned or emailed or wondered if it could be true...

After setting up another gmail account, I'm back with access to the old one - it's the one connected with the blogs - and found it had been stripped of old emails, which is A Good Thing Really, and something I was planning to get around to, someday. (No cloud without a silver lining?) Now of course I'll be trying to keep it that way!

It was stripped of its contact list too, and given the complicated form you have to fill out to report that you can't access your email account, I was leary about having to contact google again. Fortunately with gmail you can restore the contact list easily - when you go to Contacts you click on More Actions and there's an option to Restore - and you can choose how long ago you want, a day or a week or 30 days ago.

I am appalled to think that 1713 people on my list got that email. I do very much hope it was just a one-off spam, and that a complete change of identity won't be necessary...

A friend mentioned that if I'd ever emailed my bank account number or sort code to anyone, I should contact the bank and let them know. The bank said that all anyone could do with that information would be to set up standing orders or direct debits, and they'd flag my account to watch out for that kind of activity.

Rather than induce paranoia with all this information, I'm hoping that it will help people to be on the alert, and to know what to do if something similar should (heavens forfend!) happen to them.

Some simple and sensible things -

1. Keep your virus protection up to date.

2. Don't give out personal information online.

3. Back up your files regularly.

4. Keep a copy of your contact list on your PC.

5. If something says "Click Me" - don't do it!

Flaming June

... in May ...

See Lord Leighton's "Flaming June" here.

Book du jour

Three books on the same theme, two of them in slipcases -The modus operandi is to stitch lines and include the words of familiar texts, leaving out the long words - and hopefully leaving just enough information for the text to (eventually?) be recognisable -
When the book is seen page by page, the source text is invisible ... but when they're opened up, it's easier to figure out -


The texts used here will be familiar to anyone who started each and every school day, at elementary school at least, with a prayer and the national anthem - in Canada.

Brightening the streets

A cautionary tale

Let me tell you something I forgot:

Your bank and your email provider will NOT email you asking you to send them details (such as passwords) online.

So, do not be tricked into supplying them!

If you're signed into your email account, there's no need to sign in again, however "official" the request sounds - or looks.

I got tricked - and am suffering the consequences. So, my campaign this week is to let people know that they should not follow in my footsteps!

Also, you would be wise to export your email contact list to your own computer - rather than keep it in an account that you could lose access to.

In gmail, go to Contacts, then at the bottom of the screen you'll see a box "More actions" - on the menu that comes up when you click it, choose "Export" - and download your contacts to the Downloads folder on your computer. Then save it somewhere (and update it periodically).

I was amused to see the chain of emails. A friend did some "research" by replying.
The original spam email (plenty of clues about its un-reality, if you know me at all - I wouldn't have a mobile phone abroad, would probably not be flying, why capitalise Money, myself is ONE word, too many "comma splice" sentences and other grammar, spelling, and spacing infelicities - hah, don't mess with us editors!!):

From: mcooter3@gmail.com
Subject: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 09:02:54 BST
To: undisclosed recipients: ;
Reply-To: mcooter3@ymail.com
I'm sorry for this sudden request, It's because things actually got out of control. I'm Madrid, Spain right now. I was mugged last night,all my belongings including cellphone and credit card were all stolen at gun point. I need your help flying back home.
To be honest,i don't have money with me at the moment. I've made contact with my bank but the best they could do was to send me a new card in the mail which will take 2-4 working days to arrive here. I need you to lend me some Money to sort my self out of this predicament, i will pay back once i make it out of Madrid.
Western Union or MoneyGram is the fastest option to wire funds to me. Let me know if you need my details(Full names/location) to effect atransfer. You can reach me via hotel's desk phone and the number is,+34 981 600916603.
Other than this,how are things with you?
mxxx

..............My friend's response:

Subject: Re: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 10:48:38 BST
To: mcooter3@ymail.com

I have received your message and am ready to help but when I dial the number you give I get the message "this line is temporarily out of order" – Any suggestions? Can you e-mail me the details Western Union will need?

...............The immediate reply:

From: mcooter3@ymail.com
Subject: Re: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 10:49:03 BST
To: john...
Reply-To: mcooter3@ymail.com

Hi John,

I need 2,000 Euro to cover travel expenses. Like i said earlier,western union is the fastest way to send money to me. Get this done from any local
western union agent close to you using my information:

Receiver: Margaret Cooter
Address: Cuesta de San Vicente, 14, Madrid,Spain

Send me the details of the transfer once you are finished,i will pay back in due course.

Margaret

..............to which he responded:

From: john...
Subject: Re: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 10:51:02 BST
To: mcooter3@googlemail.com

I have received your message and am ready to help but when I dial the number you give I get the message "this line is temporarily out of order" – Any suggestions? Can you e-mail me the details Western Union will need?

John

and:
From: john...
Subject: Re: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 11:14:42 BST
To: mcooter3@googlemail.com

Dear Margaret,

Could you please confirm whether you sent the message asking for Euros to be sent to you? I am suspicious that your name is being used in a scam. The original message implied you were in a hotel and that I was to telephone reception, however when I tried I was told the phone was temporarily out of order, When I e-mailed to say this using the reply facility I got an immediate response which gave another address and I noticed that the e-mail address differed in one character from yours. I therefore am not sending the money until I have conformation from you that all this is genuine. I await your reply with interest.

John

.............again, an immediate response from "me" (again, with "comma splice" sentences):

From: mcooter3@ymail.com
Subject: Re: Urgent
Date: 3 May 2011 11:16:10 BST
To: john...
Reply-To: mcooter3@ymail.com

Hi John,

Yes I sent the message,my Google account is currently out of memory space. I will need to delete older emails to enable me send a new email,most times emails sent to me are bounced. Please update your address book.

Margaret

Thank you for reading this far! I hope this little story will keep you safe from similar harm.

Not in Madrid!!

In case you got an "Urgent" email with my name on it -- it's spam, sorry ... my account seems to have been taken over. Ugh.

Normal business will be resumed as soon as this is resolved...

Willow sculpture at Kew Gardens

Willow artist Tom Hare has made these enormous seed pods. (More of the poppy seed heads are beside the highway near Edinburgh.)
Hare says: "I was first introduced to willow on a weekend course when my imagination was captured by the endless possibilities of this truly amazing plant. Willow is the perfect example of a sustainable material, which can be woven into forms with such spontaneity.

"The whole process of producing willow sculpture is very grounding. The connection with nature, through coppicing and transferring observations into design, can be a humbling experience, and a physical one too.

"The willow has its own character with evocative qualities. Through time an understanding of this develops, which together with a bundle of patience, are all woven into the final creation."

Listening?

Soup spoons from Morocco, carved from lemon wood. What do they remind you of ... cup fungi? satellite dishes? meerkats?

Street photography

The Museum of London's survey of street photography is on till September 4th. You can see a selection of images from the exhibition here. I found it rather overwhelming and strangely uninteresting, and tried to figure out why. Perhaps it was the effort of looking - so much happening in each photo, plus the matching of the site with how it looks now, as seen in the photo, as seen in one's memory. It's hard to look hard for long enough to do everything justice.

The older photos, though they were compositions, had a cluttered feel ... unedited, messy ... but hey, life's like that! We were looking at history first, art second.

Or perhaps it was simply that all the older photos were monochrome (as you'd expect).

Having the soundtrack of the video playing and replaying in the background got tiresome, however interesting it was to watch it. (Why do all exhibitions have so much NOISE nowadays!)

Seeing these two pix cheered me up, though -

I was too much under a cloud myself to write down the photographer of the umbrella-and-cloud (apologies!) but have discovered that Paul Stuart's photo has been used on the cover of an accompanying book, "Street Photography Now" -
The book of the show has a 1930s photo by Wolf Suchitsky on the cover -

Yamamoto at V&A

Worth going back for another look (the exhibition is on till 10 July). As well as the main show, there are installations in other parts of the museum -I got so involved in looking at the videos - and especially the catalogues of various collections (this one has had a lot of handling!) - and didn't have time to look properly at the clothes themselves.
The V&A's blog www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/blogs/yohji-yamamoto-va has lots of in-progress photos and notes about setting up the show.

Yamamoto has always been obsessed with black, and his 'sculpted' clothes appeal to people who aren't followers of fashion. He's said that he wants them to be worn for 10 years. He trained as a lawyer and then told his mother - a dressmaker - that he wanted to join her in the business.

White on white

Postcard-sized quilting samples from long ago. The plan was to paint the surface so that the quilting lines would stay white. Might try that someday, just to see if the "plan" works as hoped...

At Marble Arch

A closer look at two sculptures we've often seen from the bus - Jelly Baby Family by Mauro Perucchetti, and Horse at Water by Nic Fiddian-Green -
Jelly babies are a key symbol for Perucchetti - they symbolize the disposability that permeates all aspects of contemporary consumer society, and he uses them to mock the aspirations that this society so often cynically betrays (and they are sited to gaze forever down that consumer hub, Oxford Street).

Fiddian-Green has been true to the form of the horse's head for 25 years. See his works in progress at the studio and foundry here.