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I think the phrase, hinge in history, is beautifully descriptive of a certain period in time. I wonder if it appropriately describes the intersection of two projects in which I’ve been involved recently, Plunder the Influence, and the publication of Blank, by Jaded Ibis Press.
Plunder the Influence, was conceived of by Adriane Herman, an artist and educator who lives in Maine. It is all about the experience of books, and their influence on the development of the work of those involved in the project. To click on this link, is akin to wandering through the stacks of the personal libraries of those willing to let you look into their lives. It heralds the tactility, the physicality, the smells and sounds of books, carried around, lent or given to others, dog eared, underlined, treasured or discarded.
Blank, in contrast, is a conceptual product of the virtual world. Conceived of by Debra di Blasi, an artist, writer and publisher of Jaded Ibis Press, Blank was written by Davis Schneiderman and is purely conceptual. Davis has provided titles to the chapters, and I’ve created pyrographs mounted over images of sky, both of which suggest windows into the reader’s imagination. The chapter titles allow the reader to conceive of the book they’d like to read, unencumbered by burdensome text already provided by the author. It’s interesting that Debra di Blasi and Jaded Ibis Press reside in Seattle and are harbingers of the new face of the publishing industry, opening up a world of possibilities for what it means to be a book.
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SUSAN WHITE 
Very exciting, Susan. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Rick Neece February 22, 2011 @ 1:28 pm