Birds of the Bible: Quail
Berkeley: never mind the press, 2019. Hardcover. Number 14 of 18 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. From the website of Alisa Golden's never mind press: "As a writer, printmaker, and letterpress printer, I work with words and images on paper and cloth. The bridge between writing and art has taken the form of books and prints since 1983, and expanded into felt and art quilts since the early 2000s. Additionally, I founded, edit and publish the art and literary magazine, Star 82 Review. For many years teaching was also a main part my life; workshops for all ages and semester-long courses as an adjunct professor around the San Francisco Bay Area. My work explores interaction and change, primarily the intersection between urban environments and natural settings, conversations and conflicts." She also wrote: "Book art can be made of many materials and take many forms: an interactive, touchable object that opens; a merging of words and images and structure; it can also be sculptural work that references reading or printing or the characteristics of a book. I'm interested in how each part adds to a whole tactile and sensory experience."
Alisa wrote about the grant she received from the Isaac Anolic Jewish Book Arts Award for this book, which she submitted: "I wrote up my proposal to do a project looking at birds in the Hebrew Bible. I had just read that before the dove was sent to check on the flooded world, Noah had sent out a raven, and I knew I wanted to explore that raven. I gave myself some room to wriggle and grow within the project because I knew that once I got started, the project would start defining itself. It was a competitive process, but I won the grant. After studying the Bible, the project evolved from one bird to three: raven, quail, and bearded vulture (an old world bird).Bound in brown cloth with quail image to cover. The book's title page is letterpress printed on Somerset Velvet paper with handset metal and wood type. The wood type belonged to my grandfather, who owned a printing and publishing company. Skipping ahead to the center, I carved and printed 'selav,' the word for quail in Hebrew, and set Hebrew type for the Bible portion of Numbers 11.31. A reduction cut floats in the centerfold with hand stitching to frame it. An English translation of the portion is visible on the right. The righthand section opens up to stand as an accordion-folded tunnel with three quail: two male and one female. The images were based on California quail, which are similar to the migratory quail found in the Bible. Back to the first opening of the book: my fictional interpretation of the story, fleshed out, so to speak. In the Biblical passage, the Israelites are wandering in the desert and the 'riffraff' are complaining to Moses that there is nothing to eat but manna and they are sick of it and want meat, particularly the fish and leeks and cucumbers, and so forth that they ate when they were slaves in Egypt. The Creator sends the quail, but there are consequences. Housed in a blue cloth covered slipcase with a cream cloth spine." In fine condition. Measures 5 x 7.25 inches. ARTB/011625. Fine.
Item #37738
Price: $650.00