Everyday Problems of American Democracy

Creator

John Thomas Greenan
Special Collections, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow

Files

Creation Date

1999

Keywords

artists' books; specimens; altered book; politics; Stacked & Altered exhibition, summer 2022

Description

1 book object. Altered book by an anonymous RISD Illustration Studies student. Unique book. The cover of the book, "Everyday problems of American Democracy" was used to create an artists' book with a new text block. The new text is primarily a repeating sentence reading, "It's gotten so, everyone thinks they're someone" The book has a hand-stamped spine label and a date due slip, with dates stamped from October 26, 1971 to March 22, 1997. Original book was published: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 1940. This book was created by a RISD Illustration Studies student and placed in the library stacks as part of a class assignment. The book was found by a shelver because the call number "looked different" from those printed labels typically attached to our books. The reference librarian at the time, Laurie Whitehill, remembers the student coming into the library and asking for the book by it's call number. She remembered the book and found out about the project from the student who had created it. Laurie took down the student's name, but he asked that his name not be listed on the book's catalog record until he graduated. The slip of paper with the student's name was later lost. Curated title for Fleet Library Special Collections exhibition Stacked & Altered, summer 2022.

RISD Fleet Library Catalog Record

https://librarycat.risd.edu/record=b1148037~S4

Press

[1998-1999]

Rights

©[1998-1999]

Materials / Techniques

alteration (process and technique); paper

Measurements

23 cm