Crucial Perimeter - 1
Cairo, Egypt: Islam Aly, 2013. Hardcover. Number 6 of 20 copies, signed by the artist. According to the artist: "'In 'Crucial Perimeter-1,' I explore the dichotomy between what’s inside a book and what’s outside. The book has no text or images on its folios. When the book is closed, the viewer can see the content on three edges of the book, but depending on how the book is opened some of the content on the edges diffuses and becomes illegible, converting into traces of texture."
In a modified Ethiopian and Coptic binding, with Coptic end band. Bound with linen thread in red embossed leather covered boards. Colored and laser-engraved edges. An unusual book with a blank interior and text - in Arabic - engraved along the edges of the text block. Size: 2.5 x 3 x 4.5 inches. Unpaginated.
Islam Aly is an Egyptian-born book artist and teacher based in Cairo, who studied book arts and art education at the University of Iowa. His books explore the possibilities of historical bindings in contemporary book art practices They have appeared in international exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and in private and public collections including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Library of Chile, Yale University, and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In an artist's statement he writes: "When I make a historical book structure, I go through a learning process. I learn the history as well as the different physical aspects of the binding such as how a book form is constructed in a specific sequence. I learn about the use of different materials such as paper, wood, leather and dyes. I learn to make choices in selecting and replacing traditional materials that I don’t have access to. I use these different experiences to enhance my work in making artists’ books and to use historical and cultural references from these structures in the actual content. In essence, I wish to explore new ways to use the rich structures of historical books in contemporary artists’ book practice and incorporate contemporary content into strictly historical structures." ARTB/070725. Fine.
Item #38116
Price: $600.00