Wednesday, June 22, 2011

3D artist book accepted

As Fiona indicated in a recent blog post, we had both entered the East Gippsland Artist Book Award 2011  Books... beyond words - evolution ; and we have both received the happy email saying our books had been accepted.


Yesterday we sent them off for the exhibition. I had posted on my piece called Spiral a some time ago when it was created. Below are a couple of photos of the artist book.


Barry Smith© Spiral
Barry Smith© Spiral - 'pages'
Barry Smith © Spiral - detail of top
The artist book is a 3D book made from a short length (about 300mm) of recycled cyprus pine and recycled brass, copper, stainless steel.  It is a sculptural book in that it is more than a sculptural object; it also communicates content as would any book.  All the metal 'pages' of the book have been stamped with the words of a poem. 


How the book is read is that the readers starts the poem at the base and follows the pages of metal around the timber in a spiral fashion thus completing one or two lines of the poem. This is repeated for each metal set of pages that spiral around the timber block; and then the final line, Let the colours paint your soul,  is in the spiral on the top of the timber post.


The words of the poem by Poetic Muse are:
Close your eyes and see the spiral in your mind
Inhale the colours
Let them heal you and cleanse you
Spirals have no beginning
Spirals have no end
Our galaxy is a spiral
But it is small compared to other galaxies
We are part of the spiral of humanity
Go with the flow of the spiral
Let the colours paint your soul
Posted by at
Labels:

14 comments:

  1. LeoviJune 23, 2011 at 1:47 AM

    A sculpture with a very creative and great content, great poem, I closed my eyes and I was stuck in the spiral, fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tammie LeeJune 23, 2011 at 2:46 AM

    gorgeous thoughts/poem on sprirals

    you are entirely creative with your art, awesome piece Barry!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SooZeQueJune 23, 2011 at 3:10 AM

    All I can say is Wow! Wow! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jo MurrayJune 23, 2011 at 4:35 AM

    Of course you were both accepted!!!! I had no doubt. Very evocative poem Barry, beautifully illustrated in your piece.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cynthia MonicaJune 23, 2011 at 4:35 AM

    What an intriguing and beautiful book! Congratulations to you both!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gardener in the DistanceJune 23, 2011 at 7:40 AM

    Hi Barry,
    a handsome work, your Spiral book. I like the combination of metals, and how they're embedded in the timber. It suggets to me that reading itself, especially of poems, can be a spiralling experience.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A mermaid in the atticJune 23, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    Magical books and spirals...two of my favourite things! Just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LisaJune 23, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    a stellar design Barry...congratulations! love the combination of metal, wood and word...you are a master architect of many mediums...

    ReplyDelete
  9. stregataJune 23, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    Oh WOW! This is breathtaking!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. BarryJune 23, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    L, TL, SZQ, JM, OTL, GiD, MiA, S - glad you liked Spiral & thanks for +ve feedback. L, TL & JM - agree with you I love the poem - especially the last line - it just takes one on a journey. Go well and may your soul and creative spirit have all the colours of the rainbow. B

    ReplyDelete
  11. ArtPropelledJune 24, 2011 at 12:17 AM

    Congratulations Barry! Well deserved!

    ReplyDelete
  12. layersJune 24, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    How very creative- I don't think I have ever seen a hand made book made out of metal that spiraled so that the poem could be read- incredible!
    and congrats on the acceptance.

    ReplyDelete
  13. BarryJune 24, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    R&D - thanks for congrats. D - I don't do a lot of artist books but I do attempt to get the form and content to meld. - and I think it worked with Spiral.

    ReplyDelete
  14. GabriellaJune 25, 2011 at 2:32 AM

    This is what an artists' book is all about, Barry - as powerful as a conveyer or container of text as it is an art object in its own right. One more beautiful triumph in the war against the elimination of the physical book!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcomed - it is good to connect with fellow travellers.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)