Piano Lessons

Piano Lessons
Jackie Batey

This double-sided concertina is created from a folded sheet of vintage pianola roll paper (Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, 1802). The rubber-stamped hands become increasingly contorted throughout the sequence as the player struggles to finish the piece, the fingers tangling completely at the finale.

Concept:

This book contains an autobiographical narrative based upon the artist's early recollections of practising the piano and becoming increasingly frustrated with her inability to get her small fingers to stretch where they needed to be. The rubber-stamped hands are drawn from her own hands on the keyboard, exaggerated as the concertina unfolds. The book seeks to capture the love of listening to beautiful piano music and the realisation that this is unattainable for the player.

From around 1880 a standard piano keyboard measurement has been fixed at 48” this replaced various piano-like instruments that traditionally had narrower keys. The average European adult male hand span is about one inch wider than that of a European adult woman meaning about 87% of women piano players can’t reach a tenth on a standard piano, which is a problem if you want to play Beethoven. Hearing a piano played expertly can be a moving experience and the appreciation of the hours of repetitious practise that’s needed to acquire this skill is enhanced by one’s own lack of practice and inability.

Dimensions: 16cm x 15cm artist’s book. Inside consists of a removable double-sided concertina of pianola-roll paper folded into 8 to make 16 pages. The concertina is 48” long, the length of a standard piano keyboard.

Weight: 90g

Materials: Red book cloth cover with rubber-stamped detail, tied with two-colour twine. Inside covers are lined with vintage sheet music. Hand-cut rubber-stamped hands throughout printed on vintage pianola roll. Embossed with maker’s mark and signed and numbered. Brighton 2020

Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH
Unknown Author

Product Description: An A3 foldy constructed out of brown card. When completely folded out, the image reveals several illustrations of attractions and items local to the Portsmouth area. Many of the examples evolve around the seaside. The imagery has been silkscreen printed in a deep blue.
The foldy is contained within an elaborate case. The word ‘Portsmouth’ has been cut out of the card structure. A decorative pattern has been silkscreen printed onto the card also.

 
Publication Details: Paper-based foldy with silkscreen printed imagery, Card encasement.

12 Plates Inspired By Charles Dickens' "The Chimes"

12 PLATES INSPIRED BY CHARLES DICKENS' “THE CHIMES”
Sadie Tierney

Product Description: One of several books created for the ‘Beyond Dickens’ exhibition, organized by the University of Portsmouth and curated by Ros Simms.
A twelve paneled concertina book containing etched imagery. The prints are upon an unknown, high gsm paper. The belly band is also made from this material.
The artist states: “I was interested in it’s themes of time passing, New Year and hope. I chose 12 symbols from the story.”. Tierney has completed a direct visual response to Dickens’ book, using recognizable and detailed imagery. The dustiness of each image, a result of the etching process, is contrasted by splashes of pinks, altering the mood of the book.
Tierney explains her use of the etching process: “‘The Chimes’ was written and published in 1844, and the star wheel etching press I used to make the print was made in 1843. It is the same type of press that William Brake would have used”.
The concertina structured has been glued within an unknown adhesive and sealed a light, white paper for reinforcement.
Publication Details: Southsea, 2012, Miniature concertina book, Etched imagery.

Phobia

PHOBIA
David Booth (Alumni)

Product Description: A 30 cm x 30 cm hardback book. The exterior has been covered in a heavy-duty chequered pattern, a close-stitch in golden thread contrasts the dual shades of brown. A thick string binds the cloth to the book’s shell. The golden thread continues onto the inner flaps, creating a grid-like structure. The thread overlaps a monochromatic, spiral-based pattern.
The opening page reads ‘phobia’. This title is an ambigram and can be read upside down. Inside each circular letter is a miniature golden mechanism, such as a cog.
The interior contains a variety of phobia-based illustrations. For example, to depict a fear of outside spaces, the artist has used a tunnel-box affect. The first panel is a letterbox, and each subsequent layer reveals an exterior location occupied by an unnerving monster. This particular design is a mixture of drawn imagery and cut and paste, which has been laser printed.
To illustrate a fear of heights, the artists has created a 3D affect by layering blue and red translucent imagery. He has also provided glasses.
Publication Details: 30 cm x 30 cm, Hardback book, Chequered book cloth, Heavy gsm paper with interactive elements (Tunnel pull-out, 3D glasses, etc.)

illustrationbooth.com

Purse

PURSE
Unknown Author

Product Description: An 8 cm x 4 cm, metal purse with a single hinge. The purse opens to reveal a miniature concertina. The front and back are attached to the metal covers using a basic adhesive. The pages are a simple cartridge, containing various hand-rendered numbers and miniature stamps. A basic clip mechanism locks the purse and a hoop-chain adorns the exterior. An elaborate engraving is upon the front, although has been worn down. Much of the exterior shell has been bumped thus giving the book a feeling of age.
Publication Details: 8 cm x 4 cm metal purse, Cartridge paper in a concertina formation, Ink-based stamps and hand rendered lettering.

A Picture Book of the Russian Alpabet

A PICTURE BOOK OF THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET
Joseph Armstrong

Product description:  A monochromatic, pocket-sized concertina book, injected with sparks of  brazen red. 
The book depicts the Russian alphabet through the use of charming, miniature ink drawings. Chiefly, Armstrong uses professions to visualize the letters, key examples including  ‘Admiral’ an ‘Gymnast’. The use of blank space within the book is of note; the artist effectively uses the concertina format to develop a sequential narrative alongside the alphabet.
A hard cover is provided, but is removable thus allowing the concertina to be fully extended.
Publication details: 1994, laser-printed, hand bound concertina book.

Phobia: A Book of Fears

Phobia: A Book of Fears

David Booth

Description: The book itself is 32cm x 32cm with 18 pages and a secret compartment containing hidden objects, and features a range of printing methods from screen printing and etching to digital print and photocopy. The main themes are phobia and the concept of the paradox, the notion that the phobic individual simultaneously avoids and seeks out the phobic object in an attempt to feel safe.  I chose to express this paradox by making the reader seek the hidden element within each image, in the same way that an Arachnophobic seeks spiders on the ceiling or an Acrophobic always looks down. This leather bound artists book explores ten seperate phobias through hidden imagery; the fear of heights, open spaces, people, spiders, clowns, the dark, ghosts, death, dolls and fire. 

Publication information: 2009, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Hardback Leather Bound, Screen Print, Etching, Digital Print, Photocopy. Edition 1 of 1

www.illustrationbooth.com/

Pride of Place

PRIDE OF PLACE
Philippa Wood

Description: A 32 page book 200mm x 150 mm.
The book records the way ordinary, mundane and decorative objects are used to lend personal meaning to the spaces in which we live and work. Through imaginative graphic treatment Pride of Place focuses our attention on that most revealing of interior spaces, the fireplace and mantlepiece display.
Publication information: 2007, Lincoln, UK, hand stitched, Silkscreen printed and colour inkjet, Edition 16 of 50
http://www.the-case.co.uk/index.html

Pocket Guide of the Most Common Gestures Women Use to Attract Men

POCKET GUIDE OF THE MOST COMMON GESTURES WOMEN USE TO ATTRACT MEN
Richard Snook, alumni of the School of Art, Design and Media

Description: The hard back, leather coated book is very tactileThe pages are single page inserts that are laminated. It is a 8.5cm x 7cm portrait 10 page artist book.  This book shows the top ten ways in which women attract men. It disseminates the use of body language in clubs and pubs to attract the attention of the male. It utilises the use of textual information in conjunction with line drawings to convey its message. This information is on separate laminated cards and these are wallet size so that the viewer can take them with him on a night out.
Publication information: 2006, Portsmouth, Stitched and single page insets, Digital prints, Edition 1 of 5
richard_snook@yahoo.co.uk

Pressure One - Two

PRESSURE ONE - TWO

Dennis Doran

Description: Two 28 page books 190mm x 140 mm. Cloth covered hard back concertina.
These books records the onset of panic as a boy starts to suffer a serious asthma attack. The books use of black and white and colour imagery incorporating written text. Book one focuses our attention on the build up of the attack and book two describes the narrator trying to calm the child down leading to eventual sleep and relief.

Publication information: 2007, Brighton, UK, Glued, Colour inkjet

Postcards

POSTCARDS
Sarah Jones, alumni of the School of Art, Design and Media

Description: A collection of 9 postcards. Width150mm Depth 90mm. A set of postcards to promote the artists work.
Publication information: 1996, Portsmouth, UK, Bulldog clip, Colour laser print and letterpress, Edition 1

Plug Diagrams

PLUG DIAGRAMS
Mark Pawson

Description: Soft bound artists' book: Length 70 mm, Width 70mm. The book is 56 pages plus a cover, photocopied using black and white and colour. The book is stiched using cotton in the colours of the wiring used to attach the plug.
The book is produced from a collection of Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagrams. These were found, passed on by friends and sent to the author by those who have bought earlier copies of this book. These have been printed using origional colours mainly black. It also includes fitted plug stickers, an explaination of these objects and various die-cut patterns. From this book we understand how different and complex these graphic objects can be. "These ephemeral slips of perforated, printed card are likely to gradually disappear and eventually become a thing of the past".Mark Pawson

Publication information:  London, UK, Hand stitched, Colour, black and white photocopy, Revised edition Jan 2003
www.mpawson.demon.co.uk

Personal Spaces 2 - The Desk

PERSONAL SPACES 2 - THE DESK
Philippa Wood - Tamar McLellan

Description: A 26 page hardback book 100mm x 230 mm. The Desk Book demonstrates the importance of the domestic and familiar object in our working lives, creating a home from home in which a sense of self permeates professional space.
Publication information: 2006, Lincoln, UK, Japanese stab bind, Individually typewritten and illustrated on blotting paper with either carbon paper illustrations or ink,  Edition No 5 of 30
http://www.the-case.co.uk/index.html