Scenes from Provence
Mixing reality, art history, and traditional French terracotta figurines called Santons, Scenes from Provence is a 13" x 13" handmade accordion book containing 24 color photo montages, a tipped-in map, four full-page spreads and two cut-out images. The cover resembles an old fraying tome, and the book is enclosed in a box with a gold-stamped spine and two inset canvases.
Before the invention of trains and planes, the tradespeople of southern France wound their way along dirt roads from village to village offering their wares on foot, wagon or horseback, trading news and gossip along the way. Santons are terra-cotta figurines modelled after these artisans. In traditional dress and with tools of their various trades, they represent village life at that time.
The Santons were photographed in front of backdrops specifically created for each figure, so they are fantastical and historical at the same time, depicting life in Provence at the end of the 18th century.
Edition of 3 • 2017
Chimneys of Burano
Chimneys of Burano is an 11" x 15" double-sided accordion book in a clamshell box. It includes 18 archival photographs printed on Moab Entrada Rag Natural paper by The Lightroom and was bound by John DeMerritt Bookbinding with letterpress printing by Patricia Curtan and handmade paper by Cave Papers. It contains a map of the Venetian Lagoon which is stamped in gold, as is the box.
Burano is a small island in the Venetian lagoon known since the 16th century for its lace-making and brightly colored houses. Legend has it that Burano's fishermen chose to paint their homes contrasting colors so they would be able to recognize them from the sea. The sculptural forms and hues of the chimneys were easily visible from a distance, guiding the sailors home.
Edition of 7 • 2010
Fragments
This handmade book is presented in its own clamshell box. It contains 12 archival pigment photographs from Pompeii, Oplantis and Villa San Marco, which are located in the Campania region of Italy. An ancient floor frieze runs down the back of the book.
It is printed on rag paper, contains letterpress printing and is bound in handmade paper.
Edition of 7 • 2008
Sanghyang Dedari Balinese Trance Dance
This handmade book, bound in raw silk, contains 11 toned hand-colored photographs of the ritual Trance Dance in Bali, mounted on rag paper. Calligraphy by Georgianna Greenwood describes the dance. Bookbinding is by the Schuberth Bookbindery.
Edition of 3 • 1978
A Library of Small Books
Using cut-outs from various bodies of work, over 30 small books present a photographic history of Gail's work. They line a handmade bookshelf built of photos from the Fragments series.
2011
