Thursday, February 27, 2025

Thursday Thoughts...

“What I am trying to get across is that material is a means of communication” 

Anni Albers

As a novice artists' book maker  I had never heard of the word materiality. Now, it is absolutely key to every book I make.

I like my Thursday Thoughts quotes as I often go looking for the person they are attributed to and discover some fabulous people. Clearly Anna Albers was a legend and at the forefront of art and making and the bit in between when it came to textiles in particular.

I wholeheartedly agree with her here, that materials ARE a means of communication. When I think about what the book might feel like - rough, soft, feather-light, hard or heavy; I know that the material choice is sending messages to the reader. It is communicating, and they are experiencing the book in a particular way because of it.

Aside from artists' book; I think about the use of warm and fluffy materials compared to jagged or rough ones; the sharpness of shattered glass alongside the layering of feathers; the use of torn cardboard versus diamonds encrusted objects. 

Materiality matters. In my mind, it references many things and alludes to many things. Materials speak.


Fragile gains - the fragility of vintage, burnt pages with the sturdiness of a metal cover...

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