Second Annual New Jersey Book Arts Symposium
Book Arts and Education, or, Preaching What We Practice
Book Artist: Maria Pisano
Maria Pisano. O-Livre Twist.
Media: Re-cycled paper, acrylic matte finish, screw and wing nut. An old illustrated children's copy of Dickens' Oliver Twist was ripped into small pieces and made into pulp. The paper was not fully macerated, wanting to retain some of the original words and images. Once hydrated, sheets were formed in 4" x 6" and 8 1/2" x 6" sizes. When dried, since the paper was industrial newsprint, it was strengthened with acrylic matte finish. The spine of the book, when the pages were torn, was left with a 1/4" paper still attached along its length. A hole was drilled through the center of this piece and both it and the pages are held together with a screw and wing nut. 1994-1996. Three copies in edition.
Maria Pisano. Modus Vivendi
8" x 6" x 1/2". Cloth. 1995.
The book format is concentric, each page turning inward, continuously upon the next page. While each page is 1/8" smaller in width than the previous page, the heigh remains constant (p. 1 is 11" x 8 1/2", while p. 9 is 7 1/12" wide). The photographs in Modus Vivendi were taken in Italy by the artist, subsequently scanned and manipulated on a Quadra 660AV. The images were made into polymer plates and letterpress printed on Rives BFK. The cover was pulled on an etching press with paste paper decorated interior, and bound with paste paper strips along the length of the pages. The type for the poem is Palatia. The book was composed, designed, printed and bound by the artist. Twenty copies in edition.
Maria Pisano. Entangled.
Two-color offset on Graphyka Parchment. Accordion folded pages in a case binding, printed at the Borowsky Center of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pa. Memory Press, 1995. Based on a poem written by the artist.