January

:: studio thoughts :: coded odes ::

January has almost come and gone, a month when long trains of thought finally arrived at their stations...

I will be starting a new job, adjunct teaching 2D Foundations at Temple University's Tyler School of Art on Monday! I'm so grateful for this opportunity and can't wait to start.

At the Crane Arts Building, the Due North exhibition is closing today. If you didn't get to see it, there are images and reviews on the show's website. As mentioned in The Inquirer's review, Cindi Ettinger's etchings on plaster and Julia Staples photographs of mountains in Iceland at night were among my favorites.

 

Geekadelphia Review of Due North 

The Due North Invitational Portfolio was also on exhibition this month at C.R. Ettinger Studio.

 

Philagrafika Invitational Portfolio at C.R. Ettinger Studio

Coming up, the opening reception is February 5th, I'm very excited to be a part of R/W: Reading & Writing Visual Experience a group exhibition curated by Gerard Brown which "investigates the uses of reading and writing – from punctuation to publication – in contemporary art. I will be showing prints from the Small Fires series.

:: R/W: Reading & Writing Visual Experience ::

Also coming up, Oculus Song will be traveling to Printed Matter's LA Art Book Fair courtesy of The Center for Book Arts in New York. Have a great trip little book!

:: Oculus Song ::

Transformation

... aster, ochre, the catalyst's bloom

:: before, August 11th ::

:: after September 21st ::

 The same spore print, taped to my wall, has completely changed colors, transforming from a pale sage green to a rusty ochre color. Strange processes.

Oculus Song :: First Copy

Oculus song is a meditation on the night sky and our mind's interiors. The images evoke atmospheric phenomena and the geometry of architecture. The text is an original poem composed using an experimental technique of writing using translation software to alter the text and generate spontaneous new content to be edited into a new text.

This artist's book was made in a limited edition of 16, 12 softcover editions, and 4 deluxe hardcover editions. This is the softcover edition. The text was handset in 12 pt Futura and letterpress printed. The imagery is letterpress and risograph printed on a mix of handmade and recycled paper. Written, designed, printed, and bound by Marianne Dages, Huldra Press, 2013.

Dimensions : 7.25" x 4.5", 44 pages
Binding : 3 signature binding in a softcover case

It is available for sale here and here

 :: Cover ::

 :: OCULUS SONG ::

The bromides flash,
on top of my room.

Luminous pillars,
mortuous colors.

What is lost gathers here,
in the eye of Jupiter.

Its distant operations,
Anchor the dawn.

A frozen horse
with vesper hoof,

Aster Ochre -
The catalyst’s bloom,

how clear the song,
the pyramid moon.

- Marianne Dages, 2013

More Oculus Song

Progress in printing Oculus Song...

:: catalyst ::

 :: pages ::

 :: the next step? ::

:: materials ::

Printing Pages

:: printing transparent pages for Oculus Song ::

Oculus Song in Progress

:: oculus song, risograph and letterpress :: 

I'm getting very excited about this project. I've made some changes since the first draft, little changes in wording and layout. Now that I am printing the final text and images, it's all coming together. 

In other news, I've been in a research mindset lately, thinking about language, storytelling, recording dreams. If you would like to see the images I've been collecting as inspiration, please stop by my Tumblr, Tiger Feathers.