This blog site will continue to show examples of my art works as they occur.
ANDREW NORRIS is an artist who enjoys making extraordinary books which possess all the imagination and skill of a painting or piece of sculpture... (review from What's On in London 1995)
A selection of pictures of my artist's books as a prelude to exhibitions to be held simultaneously in Zagreb and Bristol, England, to mark International Literacy Day on September 8th, 2008
Artist's Books are art works that are often, but not exclusively, in the form of a book. This book-form itself may take on a variety of shapes. They may be published in multiples, in editioned versions or as unique works.
Artist’s books, while being a convenient name for this genre of art work is, for me, only appropriate in as much as that the principle of books, to gradually reveal their content page by page or detail by detail fits all the works I make. Therefore, I consider a stick, with its text spiraling along its length, a mathematical construction that twists and turns to meet words with images or a cow-hide covered frieze of friesian cows as falling under the same ‘artist’s book’ umbrella. In common, too, these works have a tactile quality, satisfying to hold and explore with the hand.
The shape of the art-book-work is always driven by its content, and it is often that the same idea will appear in a variety of formats. Since the format will always bring something to the content, comment on it in someway, alter its context and bring out a different resonance. This is particularly true of the works broadly titled, POETree, where the same few words can occur in different forms altering the way in which these words are read, meanings understood and even the way that the objects are handled, particularly if the text is printed on leaves rather than stones.
Stills from an 8mm film recording a walk in the hills of
Hampshire, England. Film accompanied by a narrative
text
Book published in an edition of 60 copies
1995
Video presentation of artists' book, 2008
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One of a series of art-book-works to be exhibited
simultaneously in Zagreb and Bristol, England
to mark International Literacy Day, 8th September 2008.
An 'endless' bookwork. Each open page shows 4 panels.
By a system of opening, closing and rotating all 16 panels
are revealed until the reader returns to the point where
they started. Pictures illustrate a stone being cast into
a pond, dissipating ripples and the reflection of a passing
cloud until the water is calm again.
Edition of 20 copies
18 x 9 cms (closed)
1993
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One of a series of works to be exhibited in Croatia and
England in September 2008 to mark International Literacy Day
Endless sentence on the word 'EARTH' #1 - Art-book-work, 2002
Art work in which the word EARTH is written repeatedly.
As the reader rotates the work 'new' words, suggested
by the irregular spacing between letters, are revealed
with which the reader is able to construct their own text
and meaning.
Acrylic on beech wood
2002
* * * *
One of a series of artist's books to be exhibited in September 2008
to coincide with International Literacy Day
