Given that today (ANZAC Day) is a day of remembrance for those who have died in war or in peace keeping missions, Fiona and I decided that today would be a good day to work on our artists book for an exhibition later this year.
The exhibition has a focus on war and peace - so my book attempts to address these issues through the material and content. As you can see from the photo below the artist book will have a sculptural form.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Artists book for peace |
I have chosen to use an old cannon shell, a couple of steel cartridge cases and a few pieces that came from the battle fields around Ypres (Ieper).
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Old steel cartridge case |
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Old brass cannon shell - cut down and annealed |
I have also chosen to use a few lines from 3 poets (John McCrae, Wilfred Owen and Vance Palmer). These excerpts are stamped into the steel sheets I cut out of the cartridge boxes.
On each of the pages I have also included the words "imagine peace" that will be hidden towards the spine of the book form.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Excerpt from John Mc Crae's poem In Flanders Fields |
And the whole lot is riveted together.
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Artists book for peace |
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Artists book for peace |
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| ©2014 Barry Smith - Artists book for peace |
The work is still a bit rough - needs a bit of a grind and tidy up in a couple of places - but in the main I will leave it as it is - part of the design character of the piece.
The photos are a bit rough - taken with the iPhone at different parts of the process.
It was a good feeling to complete this work today as a artistic peace statement.
Stunning B - it is strong, fragile and beautiful. It's materials say so much and despite the horror that have seen, you have made a thing of beauty to remind us peace and beauty are possible.
ReplyDeleteoh WELL done!
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ReplyDeleteHello, Barry.
Good feeling works.
Thank you for your visiting always.
I wish You all the best.
Greeting
From Japan, ruma ❃
Brilliant idea and so well done.
ReplyDeleteincredible and a wonderful way of honoring.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful and moving post, B, and a most wonderful book of peace. Inspired use of materials!
ReplyDeleteF, V , Ruma, P, TL & C - thank you for your supportive comments regarding this peace piece - lets hope we can add that little bit more conscious energy to it so that it can carry a positive message. F - thanks - as it sits in our house it can be a reminder for us. V & P - well done if it can carry the message. TL - we often forget that those who died were actually doing it for peace - so yes it is good to honour them. C - thanks. All go well and may we continue to promote peace. B
ReplyDeleteA stunning book Barry and wonderful use of the meaningful materials you have sourced.
ReplyDeleteHi H - thank you for your valued comment - always good when the content and materials mesh. Go well. B
DeleteI love your peace book the materials are so in keeping in with your creative art
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