Monday, June 30, 2008

Nicholas Jones - Book Sculptor






I stumbled upon the work of Nicholas Jones this morning. The pictures on his website a well worth a look. I particularly like how the images of his studio space and work-in-progress seem to be as much as part of the work as the final pieces themselves. Below is from the 'About' section of his website.

Nicholas Jones is a Melbourne based sculptor who uses books and printed paper to make works which question the manner in which books are 'read'.
Books are capsules; vessels designed to hold information, borne of investigation or of personal expression. These objects are often venerated, held aloft as are amulets, as the source of reasoned knowledge, the fecund field awaiting the harvest. Sequestered away in dusty libraries, spines anticipating the eye of the beholder, these books tactility remains at arms length.
The physical act of folding, tearing and sewing book leaves, may be considered iconoclastic (extinguishing the fire of reason, perhaps). Although sometimes iconised for their content or historical importance, more often than not, books are discarded as cultural detritus. These transformed books aim to highlight the poetic nature of the book as form. As historical phenomena, books have reflected the evolution of mankind, and although beseiged by new technologies, the book remains steadfastly both the solver of the riddle and the creator of the labyrinth.

1 comment:

Krissy | Paper Schmaper said...

The top one is amazing! What a great find :)

oh yeah, rabbit rabbit is very much an english thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit