Kate Morrell
Unbinding the Book is a collaboration between the independent publishing platform Blurb and the visual arts studio Jotta.
The challenge:
push the boundaries of how books can be experienced, by evoking the storytelling properties of print and the way in which images evoke a narrative, whilst bringing to life the materiality, form and physicality that make books so alluring and different from their digital counterparts.
[vimeo width=”640″ height=”300″]http://vimeo.com/106487007[/vimeo]
Nine artists and designers were commissioned to get to work creating a “book”.
Here is a sampling of some of the great stuff that has materialized so far:
–Exploring the temporality and tactility of the book with Camille LeProust & Andres Ayerbe Posada, better known as the team Noot.
A collaborative project which explores the transience and impermanence of the book. As the book is read over the course of the exhibition, the text will gradually disappear, pages fade to black.
–Transmitting a book across analogue radio waves | Magz Hall
[vimeo width=”640″ height=”300″]http://vimeo.com/105891060[/vimeo]
Hall explores the rich history of radio as an artistic medium and the relationship between the artist and technology. For Unbinding The Book, she will create a radio book that has a transmitter broadcasting the contents of the book.
–Transforming the reading experience into a collaborative process | Callum Copley
[vimeo width=”640″ height=”300″]http://vimeo.com/105064617[/vimeo]
Reading is commonly thought of as a solitary act. However, Callum Copley will re-design a short story by Edgar Allen Poe so that it must be read by two individuals simultaneously. The readers must exchange information to fully understand the narrative of the story.
–Incorporating unconventional materials to create a large-scale, light-reactive book | Helen Schell
Schell specialises in projects about space exploration and science of the cosmos. For this book, a large book about the Moon, she will incorporate light reactive Smart Materials to create various versions of the book depending on flash and lighting conditions.
There were three launch events held in London, San Francisco and New York and when all the projects are completed there will be exhibited at the London Art Book Fair, hosted by The Whitechapel Gallery and then move to San Francisco and New York.
There is a blog to accompany the project where to you can stay current with the goings on.
Long Live the Book!