Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Reading: Visual Books, Text

This section shows how diverse the field of bookmaking can be. One of the most important aspects of the book is how, in most cases, the structure necessitates an individual "reading," so the process of experiencing the piece is very personal and intimate. This process is opposed to that of looking at a painting on a wall, where many people can look at the work at once. Digital installations can have a similar personal experience if they are installed on a computer, for single-user viewing, instead of projections/room installations.

The inventive methods of constructing the books illustrated in the chapter is inspiring. Bookmaking presents a way to make a two-dimensional piece become an (interactive) art object.

The singsong rhythm in the Gorey alphabet not only unifies the separate pages through repetition and rhyme, but it also plays a contrast to the dark subject matter. The later paragraphs about the rhythms of different languages brings up another prose-poem narrative consideration. Each language has a different rhythm, different homonyms, and thus their poetry and word interactions can create clever phrases or pertinent links that might not be possible/conceivable in another language.

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