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Altered BooksA New Look at Images and Text
A presentation by Shelley M. House
Introduction
This presentation offers a brief introduction to altered books, and then a discussion of two altered books by artist Shelley M. House, with examples of her mixed media artwork that has been influenced by altered books.
Background
Shelley M. House is an artist and an architect. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Born in Chicago, she came to Atlanta after practicing several years as an architect in Illinois.
Shelley’s artwork is mixed media; blending hand drawings, painting, digital art and poetry. Her online gallery is at www.shelleymhouse.com, and her most recent work is posted in her blog at http://shelleymhouse.wordpress.com.
All artwork presented here © 2009 by Shelley M. House.
What is an altered book?
An altered book is a form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its meaning. It’s a book that's been recycled, rescued and then has been changed or altered by means of gluing, painting, collaging, rubber stamping, cutting, tearing, or embellishing.
Altered art gives a new artistic life to old and/or used mundane, utilitarian items through the application of techniques and combinations, some recognized as standard artistic methods, some not.
Collage is a work of visual arts made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.
Mixed Media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed, and may include any or all of the above techniques and genres. Most altered art is considered mixed media, but not all mixed media is altered art, as it may not include reused or recycled objects.
Sources: Wikipedia and FragileIndustries.com Examples of altered books: Art-e-zine.co.uk
My Process:Comparing two altered books
TEXTBOOK, AMAZING BIRDS
Colored pencil and translucent paint allow all text to show through.
TEEN LITERATURE, DELTORA QUEST Sharpie blocks out text efficiently for
a bold graphic statement.
Variation on a Theme: Strange Costumes, a dating primer
Pure “found poems” – definition.
Alliteration ties together words to create phrases.
Consistent color scheme throughout book.
Alternate meaning: A textbook on birds becomes “A Primer on Dating.”
Variation on a Theme:Strange Costumes, a rock opera
Found poems become prose poems, intended as text for my own altered book.
New art created for each chapter.
In collaboration with British musician Kev Moore, my altered book project becomes a music video for a rock opera project.
Variation on a Theme:Strange Costumes, a digital collage
A digital collage is created from an altered book page.
“Bird Tongue” theme emerges as four pieces are created for a friend’s online poetry anthology.
Found poems become less cluttered.
Artwork:Single altered book page
Anyone Will Do Customs and Coax
Artwork:Hiding the text
Self-Portrait Swing Low
Artwork:Manipulation by hand
Lessons Dreamtime
Artwork:Manipulation in Photoshop
He Loves Me, study 1
He Loves Me, study 2
Artwork:Repetition gets the message across
Friendly Reminder series
Artwork: Foreign language becomes graphic rather than literal
Leopard in a Pink Cage
Flower Series: Obsession, Temptation, Lust
Artwork: Boggle poem – a game generates words for a found poem
My Japanese Dream
Into my cave I lure you,
Feed you dried herbs to cure you
Of your fever.We save our days,
Very few.I weave yew.
You drew wavesEvery day
On the cave walls,Longing for your
ocean home.With the caw of
the crowYou left me;
Left me longing, and
Alone.
fever, weave, weaver,wave, every, save, saw,was, few, drew, lure,yew, cure, caw, wasa,cave, very, dry, crew, we
Exercise: Altered book withfound poem and image
What is a Found Poem? A found poem is created by taking words found elsewhere and rearranging them into a new poem. It is the literary equivalent of a collage. A “pure” found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet. ExampleExercise1. Choose a page from your book to alter.2. Carefully re-read the prose text you have chosen, and look for 10 words that
stand out in the prose passage. Circle details, words and phrases that you find particularly powerful, moving, or interesting. What is the subject of your poem? Note what theme emerges.
3. Review your words and cut out any that don’t fit with your subject. Feel free to add others that you notice as you go through the prose piece again.
4. Choose an image that enhances your subject.5. Using examples from this presentation as a guide, determine how you want to
integrate the image with your poem. You may cut and paste, or redraw the image by hand. Sharpies are a useful tool for helping your poem stand out from surrounding text.
Purpose Your altered book can become not only creative writing and art for its own sake, but also an inspirational catalyst for your other writing projects. For instance: a bird textbook may start out as a manual on dating, but then birds can become a powerful metaphor for a larger message.
Suggested Resources
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7131/91378 The History of Altered Books, Examples, and How to Make One
http://www.alteredbookartists.com/index.html International Society of Altered Book Artists -- a non-profit Organization dedicated to promoting altered books as an art form and to provide a Forum for the exchange of skills, experiences, and ideas through education, exhibits, and events.
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/alteredbook.html Beautiful examples of altered books.
http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/Altered books and altered art by Seth Apter.
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/Linda-books.htm
An altered book lesson plan with lots of ideas and a great list of resources.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5780Explains the poetic form “Found Poem.”
www.shelleymhouse.com and http://shelleymhouse.wordpress.comMixed media art by Shelley M. House.
