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Student Narrative
There Is No New Thing Under the Sun is an artist's book presented as a printed piñata. It is part of a series of publications that aim to illuminate the connection between domesticity and tragedy. From my point of view, a piñata is the domestication of every kind of object in the world. It is also an object that is meant to be destroyed. The destruction of the sun is the immense final tragedy. This piñata can be either an object to be destroyed to discover what is inside it or an object to contemplate and assume what the text suggests: there is no new thing under the sun. The possibility that the end of the world happening multiple times is my way to accept tragedy and beauty. At the same time, this book is a reflection on artistic practice. “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) is a Bible verse that says everything that happens today has happened before; hence, there are no new ideas. This makes me wonder: What can happen with my work once I accept this reality? Does it become easy to create something meant to be destroyed? (No).
Publication Date
11-1-2024
Description
Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.
Keywords
artists' books; Baker & Whitehill
Disciplines
Book and Paper
Student Status
Graduate student
Year of Graduation
2026
Major
Printmaking
Faculty / Course
Graduate printmaking 01
Materials + Techniques
Outside: Screen Printing on Mitsumata Natural, ~39g/m², and letterpress for every text. Inside structure: Screen Printing on Newspread, ~90g/m² and glued with wheat paste.
Photo Credit
Miles Tong 2025 FAV
Recommended Citation
Martinez Rojas, Catalina; Collections, Special; and Library, Fleet, "There is no new thing under the sun" (2024). 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025. 31.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/bookcontest11th2025/31
