Contemporary Illuminated Books/Manuscripts
Tamar Messer:
Most of her work is bright and full of color (see the Book of Esther). The exception is her Book of Lamentations-- very stark black and white linocuts. I liked the interplay of "hand-printing" and "digital-printing".
Avner Moriah:
Moriah adapts his personal style to the style that would best suit the manuscript: the Book of Genesis is done in a more "primitive" symbolic style, and the Scroll of Esther seems to be influenced by Persian manuscripts (based on manuscripts I saw at the Met).
Yael David-Cohen
The Book of Esther was unbound with etchings, chin colle, and hand written text in graphite. The paper looked like half sheets of watercolor paper.
Manual of Illuminated and Missal Painting, Edwin Jewitt, 1860
Discussed color, design, pigments etc. and had reproductions of designs and calligraphy. In discussing the designs in illuminated manuscripts, the author wrote:
"The student may... be assured that to be true to nature will give his productions their greatest and most lasting charms... Art should always be based upon nature, and be made subservient to it, and the two so combined as to make a perfect and pleasing whole." (page 26)
Whether this applies to all art or not, it strengthened my desire to incorporate my nature writing, cyanotypes (which use nature in the process), and illuminated manuscripts.
Contemporary Cyanotype Art Books
Nora Lee McGillivray
Mapping the Great Book:
All in cyanotype, the pages open from the center and there is a round globe-like book in the center. The artists used all sorts of objects (even pearls?) to create the illusion of stars and planets. There are some red markings to compliment/contrast the blue. This book is about celestial bodies and in the credits it says "This book... was printed by the Sun at 45'03' North Latitude, 93'08' West Longitude..."
Between Us and Far Away:
A long folded (accordion style) book within a "house". Otherwise similar to Mapping the Great Book.
Carolee Campbell
XXIV Short Love Poems, Bruce Whitman 2002
The cyanotype images are very small (1.5 inches?) and very intimate.
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