September 5, 2013
Deanna Perez ’14 proved in her sculpture exhibition on Monday that books tell more than the stories recorded in their pages. She spent the summer working on an Emerson Foundation project titled “The Life of a Book: From the Bindery to the Pedestal.” In her finished compilation of sculptures, Perez portrayed both the birth and death of books in two art pieces made up of old Hamilton College and Utica Library books.
The first piece, “Woven Words,” is made up of intertwined thread and pages cut from books. The lines start as strands close to the ground, and become enmeshed with one another into a web of ideas toward the ceiling. In her artist statement, Perez describes this part of the project: “Taken back to its primitive form. The early life of a book. When its words were just beginning to form lines.”
In the second part of the project, “Eleanor & Franklin,” Perez illustrates the end of a book with several books unbounded and pieced together with their pages slightly open. Perez hopes that the open position of the books liberates the books that have been stuck closed on crowded library bookshelves. Some of the books display handwritten messages, while others simply show the wear and tear from being held by countless hands over the years.
Perez continues to be driven by such unique projects.
“My joint interest in creative writing and sculpture always drives me to explore the conceptual ideas surrounding words, imagery and visual experiences,” she said.
This year, Perez plans to continue working with her advisor, Professor Rebecca Murtaugh, on a senior project focused in sculpture.
No comments yet.
Comment Guidelines
Please log in to post a comment