Particulate History
Orlando, FL: Rachel Simmons, 2022. Softcover. Number 16 of 20 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. A poetic artists' book inspired by climate data extracted from the earth's glaciers.It has a double accordion book structure featuring polar imagery and visual poetry. According to the artist: This book "was inspired by the scientific method of harvesting historical climate data from the earth’s glaciers by drilling and extracting long frozen cylinders called ice cores. Air pollution, volcanic glass shards, greenhouse gases and industrial chemicals circulate across the planet and become trapped within air bubbles in the ice, preserving samples of the earth’s atmosphere over hundreds and thousands of years. Scientists can travel back in time by studying these layers of frozen time, allowing them to measure and date volcanic eruptions, rising CO2 emissions, temperature fluctuations and even fallout from thermonuclear bombs. I learned about ice cores when researching for my first trip to Antarctica and quickly became fascinated by their physical embodiment of time and knowledge. As I crunched my boots across deep snowfall, I couldn’t help thinking about the history below my feet.
The flexible, tactile structure of the book invites manipulation and presents multiple views based on a reader’s individual exploration. One can peer through cut windows to spy turquoise icebergs or read visual poetry on the mysterious nature of history captured in ice. The work was also influenced by my memories of riding in a zodiac through chunks of ice in the Antarctic Peninsula while hearing glacial ice falling into the bay. The book reads, 'Glittering white almanac, buckled by pressure, by time, pages floating/flowing, temporarily. A slow metallic crack echoes across the bay.' The broken textures and aqua color palette evoke the ice, snow, dust and the relentless wind that scours the glaciers. I used found items—plastic carrying bags, ribbon and rubber mesh— to press textures into a Gelli plate to make unique marks in the ink. The six images of the icebergs, also found in my earlier book Tracking B15, came from photographs I took in a glacial lagoon off the Lemaire Channel."
Rachel Simmons is a book artist and print maker that organizes and participates in socially engaging community projects. Her work is informed by science, philosophy, memory, creativity, and activism. She teaches at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, directs the Rollins Book Arts Collection, and serves on the board of CBAA, The Association for Book Art Education. Her work can be found in public and private collections across the U.S.
Handmade paper wrappers fold around magnetic closure and title label to front panel. The interior is a double accordion containing typewritten text and monotype and relief prints on Thai Kozo with gesso, thread, and collage. IAccompanied by a sheet with the book's description and RAchel's description pf the book's genesis. n fine condition. Size: 12 x 6 x .25 inches, closed; 24 x 6 x 4 inches, open. Unpaginated. ARTB061426. Fine.
Item #38349
Price: $585.00