BFA Thesis: The Archive At Hand

Showed in Harder Hall at Alfred University, The Archive At Hand featured an array of multi-media artist books and book objects. See also the blog section for related rambling.

The social media beauty shot
One of approximately eight billion polaroid sized poster leaflets distributed

Catalogue Of Works

Obsess Over Reruns – 10 x 8 x 1 in. Softcover photobook of DSLR digital photography arranged in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe InDesign. Surveillance-type self-stalking over two months in isolation and quarantine. Features 975 photos on 422 pages. Printed via Blurb. Misprint on the back cover has been scribbled out with sharpie. 

Drizzle/No Drizzle – 6 x 5 x 1 ½ in. Various receipt papers and food packaging. An [almost] complete receipt record of to-go orders during one and a half semester’s campus dining. Glue bound text block. Glue and stitch bound “Brand Name” chip bag cover with decorative knots. 

Doll Book Of Young Goodman Brown – 2 ¾ x 1 ⅞ x ⅞ in. Ribbon, leather, cotton thread, acrylic paint. A facsimile book depicting text and images selected and interpreted from the Nathaniel Hawthorne story Young Goodman Brown

Treasure Chest Book – 9 x 6 x 1 ½ in. Coptic-stitch bound black and reflective cardstock gatherings. Vinyl and decorative leather cover with bead and cotton thread accents. 

Afloat -6 x 5 x 1 in. Blue Jeans, acrylic paint stitch bound into wraparound cover.investigation and interpretation of the text of Genesis chapters 6-9 [“Noah’s Arc”]. 

Subliminal – 9 x 5 x 1 ⅓ in. Mixed painting and drawing media on Coptic-stitch bound brown paper gatherings sourced from university quarantine food deliveries. Bound in cardboard and cotton fabric. Depicts two semesters of visceral dreaming.

Leather Pocket Book – 7 x 5 x ½ in. Coptic stitch bound  brown paper gatherings sourced from university quarantine food deliveries. Hand stitched leather pouch cover and fabric lining. 

Mebu or A Long Walk Home At Night – 23 x 2 ft. Acrylic illustration scanned and di-sublimated onto polyester with cotton thread stitching. Two characters, a pattern-person and a size-shifting wolf-dog, walk home across a spatially disjointed landscape. Focuses on spatial relations in narrative storytelling. 

Dissected Book – 10 ft x 4 ⅔ ft x 7 in. Found and handmade materials including t-shirts, plastic bottle caps, rope, can tabs, fishnet [handmade], knit swatches, bead letters, and other fibers. Acrylic painted letters, when arranged, spell out quote from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2: “YOU HAVE OFTEN BEGUN TO TELL ME WHAT I AM BUT STOPPED AND LEFT ME TO A BOOTLESS INQUISITION”. 

Note Book – 9 x 3 x ½ in. Found sheet music scraps glue bound in cardstock with hand made orange peel paper embellishment. 

Recovered: Foreign Words And Phrases – 4 ½ x 3 x ½ in. Found text block glue bound in card stock with ribbon, acrylic. Scrapbook and hand made cattail paper embellishments. 

High Brow Fever Dream – 8 ⅓ x 6 x ½ in. Dimensions. Digitally printed illustrations of Punic war elephants and still frames from Casablanca retouched with colored pencil and stab bound into board. Embellished with lace, beading, and cotton thread. 

Isaac – 4 x 3 ½ x ⅔ in. Black colored pencil illustrations on Arnhem paper stab bound into cotton handkerchief. Investigates gender and sexuality. 

Silly Stringthing to Read – 3 ft 9 in x 2 ft 4 in. Crocheted veil-book-object with decorative and lettered beading.

12set/The Labours of the Months – 12 x 9 ½ x 1 ½ in. Digitally scanned magazine collages with multimedia paper inserts, foldouts, and hand illustration stab bound in board. Cover decorated with acrylic paint, fabric flowers, ribbon, and knitting yarn. Reflects on calendar cycles and the passage of time.

A Few Close Looks At Walls – 11 x 8 x < ¼ in. Softcover photobook of DSLR digital photography arranged in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe InDesign. Printed via Blurb. Takes a hard look at outlets and other quiet wall details. 

Bi-Fold – 4 ft 5 in x 3 ft. Collaged photo prints sealed with multiple layers of glue. A self portrait book. 

Promotional material provided for show committee social media and online catalogue, mid April 2021:

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