Wednesday 15 July 2009

stuck in dante

so i'm working on this picture and i'm getting a bit stuck when t suggests i do a bit of a collage, or rather has assumed that's what i'm going to do, and once the idea's in my head then that's exactly what i want to do.

something text based but what to use? i have some books lying about that would maybe be suitable. one i can't find, then my eyes light on an old penguin copy of inferno. perfect. naturally i'm not just going to tear out any old page so i start reading. big mistake!

back in the day i remember finding it unutterably tedious and impenetrable. not so now! the copy i start reading is the sayers translation and as such, to my eyes, dreadfully, rhyme-y. i know i should have another copy, as you do, but can't find it. t to the rescue. it's the musa translation.

brilliant is say, now i can read them in parallel. t rolls her eyes and reminds me i have a third, dore illustrated copy, she's tucked away. i check that out this morning. it's by some bloke called cary. not rhyming but old school. with pictures. it's brilliant.

so in short, having ended my flu exile, i'm off down the town to try and find an inferno that i'm happen tearing up. not the pinsky version obviously, because i want that....

12 comments:

Niamh B said...

Brilliant - sounds like you've enough copies though - what about photocopying? or must they be from an actual book?

swiss said...

t suggested printing/copyong but the paper weight is too high and there's not the same ageing

that said i've just been down the town and got caught up with coffee buying and blethering in the bike shop and forgot i was supposed to be book searching

first time i've been out since the flu. good to see all the local heroin community decked out in their sunny afternoon finest for going to the court.

apprentice said...

Quite a problem you've got there.
I would struggle to rip up a book too without ending up delving into it and getting lost.

I hope you source another copy. Funny i met someone last night who is going to be reading with Pinsky in the US. Funny how names pop out of nowhere in two different places at the same time.

Niamh B said...

Nice... but the mention of coffee gave me a thought, you could spill some on the paper - violá instant aging... or hang on - wait - are you one of those artists who's all full of integrity and stuff?

Thought you might be, alright...

swiss said...

er... i'm one of those artists who gets sent postcards with the likes of 'you're so shallow you probably think monogamy is a type of wood' on it (from my friends!). which isn;t that offensive because of its large element of truth!

no, i think i've still got issues with disassembling books that i'm desperately needing to tackle.

Anonymous said...

could you not splash out on some lovely onionskin paper and copy onto that? all copiers have settings to fuck with paper settings.

i have had some little success with watercoloring onto thick cotton rag that has been copied with the black lines....

Niamh B said...

My dream is to have all monogamy flooring some day...

Feltbug said...

There is nothing like the pages of an old book, photocopy paper can never be fragile or 'used' in the same way an old book can be, and the feeling of pages that have been handled by so many is a great place to start. Good luck in your search -another good reason to peruse the local bookshops :)

Niamh B said...

Library books! Just leave a copy of the pages you choose to tear out/ use, so future readers won't be dissappointed, and there you have your pages that have passed through many hands. Good thinking Feltbug!

swiss said...

that's, that's..... just sinful!

Niamh B said...

Aha - but not if you leave the next reader a signed note revealing to them that the page that is not present is actually part of a great work of art elsewhere.. maybe giving them the link to look up. Don't think I'd feel at all cheated as a reader in that circumstance. Obviously I can't speak for the librarian tho.

ArtSparker said...

Currently dithering on the edge of making myself. Negative capability is a hooligan.