Artists' Books
Files
Download Artists' Book Preview (14.5 MB)
Creation Date
2017
Keywords
fairy tales, folk tales, votive offerings, artists' books
Description
1 object with removable objects. Title from cover. Edition of 50 numbered copies. Date of publication from Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website. House-shaped, shrine-shaped structure with front cover as doors that open to a three-dimensional scene with a movable part using pull tab and a pullout drawer containing miniature artifacts to the satirical story, a shovel and bucket of sand. Pullout drawer with artifacts and colophon. Printed letterpress on a variety of papers including paper made at Papeterie Saint-Armand.Book and artifacts made and assembled at Flying Fish Press. "A recuerdo for Ste. Ostrich was written and illustrated by Lois Morrison, with book design and paper engineering by Julie Chen. The ex-voto painting was created by Elizabeth Collins. The edition of 50 copies was letterpress printed on a variety of papers including paper made at Papeterie Saint-Armand."--Colophon. Text in English and Spanish. Book artists Lois Morrison and Julie Chen have been friends for 40 years and have worked together on three artists' book collaborations including Ste. Ostrich in Manhattan: The Visitations of a Martyr (1990) and this most recent work: A Recuredo for Ste. Ostrich. A recuerdo is a memento, here a votive offering to a saint or divinity given in gratitude or devotion. In Mexico there is a long tradition of these offerings, giving thanks for a miracle or favor. This house-shaped votive recounts several stories about Ste. Ostrich. The outside tells and shows the intercession of the Sainte when a breakdown strands a mother and daughter in the desert. Inside are a series of connected stories recounting the ostrich's saga - her unappreciated gift of sand, unappreciated first at the birth of the baby Jesus, then by the sisters in a convent, then by the people of the Mexico. All this leads to her martyrdom and subsequent beatification. As in all of Morrison's religious work, this one has an element of quirkiness and dark humor. Though this seems to be looking through the glass darkly - only gift the ostrich has is rejected by all, the ostrich breaks her neck trying to bury her head at the bottom of a swimming pool -- ultimately the positive wins out. Even the seemingly most unworthy, even the lowly ostrich who "God hath deprived.. of wisdom..[and] understanding" (Job 39: 13-17) is valuable and able to perform miracles. -- Vamp & Tramp Booksellers WWW site, viewed June 9, 2017.
RISD Fleet Library Catalog Record
Press
Berkeley, California : Flying Fish Press, [2017]
Rights
©Morrison, Lois, Berkeley, CA: Flying Fish Press, 2017.
Materials / Techniques
movable books; toy books; paper
Measurements
31 x 22 x 7 cm