Folds act as markers of intent, checkpoints; something to return to. They act as ‘loops’ in the book’s system. Folds also increase the amount of space that the book occupies; the object becomes wider, therefore the gaps made by folding the corners act as entrances- points of entry to the book. A fold creates three lines, either side of the fold and the fold itself, this doesn’t include the other side of the page where more lines are created. Even when the fold is flattened out a small relief can be seen where the fold once was. Folds change the dynamics of a surface. A surface is no longer flat; it is on the border between two and three dimensions. Direct manipulation of the surface means that images, text and lines that already exist on it can be distorted and their visual impact can change as line up with other elements on different parts of the surface. The surface can remain folded or be opened out fully- with evidence of the folds always remaining present. The action of folding and unfolding could also be an invitation for interaction from audiences. Creating a folded structure would allow interplay between shape and surface, with each plane offering a separate space for line, text and colour to occupy. A folded structure also has the benefits of being able to be viewed from multiple angles, each with a different perspective of the structure and the material that exists on the surface. PRESENCE / ABSENCE
Isolating the material from folded corners provides a very narrow perspective on the content of the book. Depending on the books design and layout there are different encounters that can be made by folding corners; book pages, images, lines of text, blank paper. Each encounter will also be affected by the angle of the fold in the page. Erica Baum has addressed this idea in her book ‘Dog Ear’, which collects a number of photographs of folded corners in a number of different books to reveal small squares of text. Publishers Ugly Duckling Presse describes the project as follows: “The concept of Dog Ear is simple and straightforward: dog-eared pages of mass-market paperbacks are photographed to isolate the small diagonally bisected squares or rectangles of text. The photographs are formally quite neutral and sedate—cursorily reminiscent of Alber's "Homage to the Square" series of prints, paintings and tapestries—but the text also demands attention and it is what allows or coaxes the viewer to linger. In his introduction to the book, Kenneth Goldsmith asks: "Do we see them or do we read them? If we choose to read them, how should we read? Across the fold? Through it? Around it? If we choose to look at Baum's pictures, how should we see them? As artistic photographs? Documentation? Text art?"” This quote from Goldsmith perfectly describes the questions that I am trying to address in my own practice; the differences between seeing and reading text when we encounter it. Without any further manipulation the simple fold creates a textual structure that changes how we approach and engage with the text, whilst retaining the reference to its original form as the pages from a book. If I am to work with books I would like to somehow retain its integrity as an object, so with as little variation to effect that as possible. Folding changes the structure yet retains the original information whilst creating something new. It is definitely a process that I want to consider taking forward.
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AuthorThird Year BA Hons Fine Art student studying at Falmouth University Archives
April 2017
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