A Passage.
Granary Books, 1994. Item #GB_32
6 1/4 x 8 1/2 in., 360 pp., cloth over boards.
“A Passage...presents itself as a representative artifact. The title itself is generic, suggesting that, had this one not been chosen, another passage would’ve sufficed as well. And its binding and typography, so unobtrusive and anonymous, would make it hard to pick out on a library shelf. Clearly A Passage is every book; yet as much as these production values efface themselves, this artifact aggressively confronts us with its disappearance from our culture.”
–Joe Elliot, The Journal of Artists’ Books
Since 1981, Buzz Spector has created unique and editioned volumes and installation pieces confronting the cultural significance and history of the book. As a writer, editor, and book designer, he employs the materials of his trade books and found texts, which he alters through tearing, cutting, painting, and other processes. Spector’s intention is not to destroy, but to transform, books and language. A Passage develops a fully integrated relationship between book form and textual material, with writing, design, and hand-torn pages. Using the method of his unique altered bookworks, Spector has torn these pages in a sequence of lessening increments to make a cross section of his text. Each and every volume in the edition has been altered in the same way, leaving a shredded field of typographic characters whose “miraculous” legibility gives further meaning to the poignant personal narrative Spector has written.
Typeset by Philip Gallo at The Hermetic Press and printed offset by Brad Freeman at InterPlanetary Productions. Bound in cloth over boards by Jill Jevne. This is from an edition of 48 copies, of which 13 are hors commerce, 35 are for sale, and two are artist’s proofs. Out-of-print.
●
ABOUT BUZZ SPECTOR
Further reading: Elliot, Joe. “BACK TO BASICS: 3 Primers from Granary Books.” The Journal of Artists’ Books, (Spring 1995): 16-19. Viewable online or on this site.
Out of Stock