Daniel Essig

Luna , 2012

Artwork Shop  
23 x 12 x 6 in

sculptural book

Carved and painted wood, 19th rag text papers, handmade flax paper, mica, shellac, nails, velvet, 1671 illustrations, silk, ammonite fossils, luna moth wings. Ethiopian and Coptic Bindings. It was through the influence of Dolph Smith that Daniel Essig began to reach beyond the simple Ethiopian book. He was making sculptural books by hanging paper from wooden structures, and Essig tracked him down and ultimately studied with him. Under his influence he developed his bridge books, which use the same Coptic binding but exaggerate each of the elements: the covers become elongated into two-foot-long towers that stand on a tabletop, and rather than 10 or 12 signatures in the text block, he uses 100 to 200, well over 1000 pages.

SOLD