EDITION OF 33, COMPLETED IN 2012. $700.
Solid Phases is inspired by drawings of the molecular structure of ice, and the language used to describe the brittle bond of water in its solid phase. This book explores the fragile nature of connection, tendency towards stasis despite change, and the impact of stress upon a solid. The text is culled from the book Ice Physics (Peter V. Hobbs, 1974) in particular the first section of the book entitled “Solid Phases of the Water Substance.”
Images are heavily inked and printed in multiple layers on translucent paper, saturating the sheets and blurring the distinction between front and back. Images and sentences are constructed across multiple pages; the viewer reads down through each page. The resulting images are fully experienced only in book form.
Most of this book was designed and printed in 2008, during a Visiting Artist Residency at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, made possible by a grant from the Windgate Foundation. The final twelve press runs and binding were completed in the fall of 2012. Some things have to sit for a while. The text was hand-set from a very worn case of Helvetica, and printed on a Vandercook SP-20. Images printed from a photopolymer plates and linoleum blocks. Papers, in order of appearance and omitting repetition, are: Sakamoto, Shin-Tobi, an overbeaten flax sheet made by Bridget O’Malley of Cave Paper, and assorted text-weight sheets made at the UICB Papermaking Facility. Four one-pound cans of transparent white ink were used in the printing of this book. Solid Phases is contained in a modified full-cloth case binding.
Solid Phases was produced in its entirety by Sara Langworthy in an edition of 33. The book is available for $700.
