Two Moons
2021: Luminice Press, Philadelphia. Softcover. Number 5 of 15 copies signed and numbered by the book artists on loosely inclosed colophon. This is another beautiful book from the very fine Luminice Press. The name "The"Luminice Press designates artist books and prints that employ metal type and other forms of relief printing that are printed on a hand press designed and constructed by Thomas Parker Williams. Luminice Press Artist Books are the collaborative work of Thomas Parker Williams and Mary Agnes Williams. Book artist and printer Thomas Parker Williams began creating artists' books in 1998 while also painting. As of 2009 he has limited his art practice exclusively to artists' books. In that year he also began collaborating with his wife, photographer Mary Agnes Williams. In 2013 they started Luminice Press, incorporating letterpress printing into artists' books and broadsides. The artists' books draw on a range of conceptual sources in creating their books, including mathematics, music, literature, theology, philosophy, astronomy, natural sciences, and Eastern thought. Books by Williams or the Luminice Press may be found in over 50 public collections around the country.
From the book artists about this stunning recent work: "Two Moons is a 24-page artist book contrasting our serene moon, Earth’s lunar companion, with the fiery, volcanic Io, one of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo in 1610. Its tete-beche binding contains a literal window between the two sides of the book, which serves as their shared back cover. The side of the book on Earth’s moon is illustrated in cool blues, grays and black, and features seven impressionistic Japanese haiku and tanka that were written between the 7th and 18th centuries. The text on the Io side of the book focuses on the scientific data crucial to advancing knowledge of this distant body. The images, starting in tones of black and gray, continue to intensify in color, ultimately depicting the bright reds and yellows of Io’s fiery landscape." The book's covers are done in Neenah Classic Linen, with painted and unpainted aluminum with cutout and paper liner. The spine is Washi Linen. It is printed with oil-based relief inks and dry pigments in burnt plate oil, with 79 color changes. The test is letterpress printed, handset in Janson, Janson Italicn and Park Avenue fonts on polymer plates. Housed in a clear poylcarbonate case. In fine condition. Measures 8 x 9 x 6 inches. Unpaginated. ARTB/061226. Fine.
Item #38343
Price: $2,000.00