re/membering touch This catalogue documents four series of artists books produced by
Tim Mosely
from the deep: Block Books by Tim Mosely George Petelin, Griffith University, June 2014
and the justifiably marginal written notes that
production required only simple equipment—
the tradition of the book, the nature of the
accompanied them, it is likely that neither
“a block of wood and a knife”—and apparently
print, and the haptic experience of these.
pictures nor words are any more, nor less,
were enormously successful; reportedly, “they
self-sufficient than each other. Ivins also fails to
were sold in their thousands on pilgrimages, at
Assyrian cuneiform impressed in clay tablets—
address the problem of why pictorial printing
church doors and at fairs”.5 These early prints
employed relief, just as classical carving into
in the Oriental cultures, which preceded its
made possible the multiplication of religious
stone tablets subsequently did. However, half
introduction in Europe by several centuries,
pictures. In an essentially oral culture centred
a millennium passed before someone applied
did not precipitate an industrial revolution.
on religious life, they enabled the images
ink onto that relief in order to make a print.
Walter Ong answers such an implication by
depicted on church columns, portals, and
The emergence of pictorial relief prints, rather
attributing the major effect to a combination
windows to be taken home as a souvenir of
than that of moveable type, was judged by
of technologies, and asserting that “what
pilgrimage.
William Ivins Jr., founding curator of prints at
is distinctive of modern science is the
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to have been
conjuncture of exact observation and exact
prints in Europe were playing cards, satirical
the greatest advance in civilisation since the
verbalisation”.4
pamphlets, and portrayals of saints commonly
Tim Mosely’s works address three issues:
Curiously, the earliest form of book—that of
invention of writing itself.1
However, to view this technology purely in
Among the earliest uses of pictorial
believed to protect one from misfortune. These
terms of scientific advance is to miss much of
purely pictorial forms were quickly followed
advance is the print’s exact reproducibility.
its social impact; as with ‘new’ technologies
by ones that combined simple text with
In answer to Ivins’s thesis, print historian
in the present era, printing was mainly put in
illustration—such as calendars and children’s
Elizabeth Eisenstein, while conceding that
the service of entertaining the masses. This
alphabets—and that were bound into block
“The fact that identical images, maps and
relied on reproducibility but not necessarily
books. As the inability of block books to
diagrams could be viewed simultaneously
on exact accuracy. The use of pictorial prints
easily produce large volumes of text was
by scattered readers constituted a kind of
and their binding into books emerged in
equally matched by the typesetter’s difficulty
communications revolution in itself ...”, chides
Europe around 1418, about three-quarters of
in reproducing pictures, these continued to
him in “underrating the significance of the
a century before the invention of typography.
coexist alongside typographic texts for about
text”2 and cites the fact that Leonardo’s
As Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin
half a century. In their own time, block books,
anatomical studies did not “set the study
note, “The earliest example of xylography, or
unlike the precious products of scriptoria, and
of anatomy on a new course” as evidence
woodcut printing, known to us are pulls taken
of indeed the early printing press, were the
against “pictorial statements as sufficient
on paper of designs intended for cloth: they
forerunners of egalitarian mass culture.6 Their
in themselves”.3 Although Eisenstein can
appeared only a short time after paper had
scarcity today is due to their huge public’s
be accused of ignoring both the secretive
come into common use in Europe, that is,
neglect in failing to preserve them. According
unpublished nature of Leonardo’s studies
about 70 years before the printed book.” Their
to Febvre and Martin, “Most of those which
What Ivins considers the essence of this
survive have done so because they were
smooth and the striated can be understood
their fifteenth-century ancestors, these books
inserted in the bindings of books or in the
in terms of movement: ‘striated’ travel is
are made for consumption.
lining of chests.”7 Tim Mosely’s artists books,
planned linear movement from point A to
Moreover, the form of consumption that
although each unique rather than a mass-
point B, while ‘smooth’ space involves a
Mosely encourages challenges our established
produced item, are heir to this tradition.
meandering movement. Rather than being
reading habits: pages can fold out instead of
focused on a destination, smooth travel is
in, provide surprising juxtapositions through
This also contributes to our experience of
more about the journey. Deleuze and Guattari
alternating in size, invite crumpling, searching
the book. Feeling an embossed surface,
refer to movement in such smooth space as
for folds, and the discovery of cryptic textual
differentiating between the binding and the
‘nomadic’— influenced by local forces rather
messages. We are constantly made to ask:
firm texture of the cover, opening the flyleaf,
than by conceptual maps. “The sea”, they
is this a map of a metaphorical sea, or the
and finally turning the pages; feeling their
write, “is perhaps principal among smooth
sea itself?
flex, smoothing the page down, plucking
spaces, the hydraulic model par excellence”.8
Intrinsic to relief printing is its tactile nature.
the next page with careful fingertips—all this
In many ways, Mosely’s prints resemble a
contributes to our pleasure and understanding
sea—a smooth but also turbulent space that
of what a book is. We do not want to crease
requires intuitive navigation. The traditions of
the valued book. We shudder at the folded-
the print and the conventions of the book,
down bookmarked corner. We scan the
however, provide striated landmarks—a map
Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations
surface and remember imperfections as we
of expectations that the reader must reconcile
in Early-Modern Europe: Volumes I and II (Cambridge:
look for where we last stopped reading.
with what they encounter on their journey.
Mosely’s art plays with all of this. Moreover,
Each of Mosely’s works is a unique artists
his prints capture the uncarved surface of his
book with idiosyncratic variations, exploiting
woodcut medium and use it to fuel flights of
contingent conditions and even errors, as
fancy, philosophical reflection, and political
befits a smooth space. But, unlike a unique
expression. Impressing the intrinsic grain of
precious artwork destined for a museum
timber ply rather than carved images, Mosely
case, these books must be handled. In this
prints books that transport us on a journey
way, Mosely contradicts the fixity of exact
over surfaces.
repeatable pictorial statements attributed to
Drawing on the metaphor of “smooth and
1.
William Mills Ivins, Prints and Visual Communication (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1969), 3.
2.
Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of
Cambridge University Press, 1997), 53. 3.
Ibid., 269.
4.
Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy, The Technologizing of the Word (London; New York: Routledge, 2002), 44.
5.
Ibid., 46.
6.
Chandra Mukerji, “Mass Culture and the Modern WorldSystem,” Theory and Society 8, no. 2 (1979): 245–68.
7.
Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin, The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450–1800 (London: Verso
the print by authors such as Ivins, Eisenstein,
Editions, 1984), 48.
striated space” theorised by Gilles Deleuze
and Ong as well as the preciousness of fine
and Félix Guattari, Mosely pits the planned
art, and recovers an embodied experience of
Capitalism and Schizophrenia (Minneapolis: University of
against the unexpected on this journey. The
fluidity more associated with oral culture. Like
Minnesota Press, 1983), 387.
8.
Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus:
re/membering touch artist statement
Touch, the most complex of our senses, can be passive or active. Our touch of books is primarily passive,
The relief prints that fill their pages were made from twenty sheets of salvaged luan plywood. Luan ply is manufactured from rainforest
facilitating visual reading. Within the emerging
timbers often illegally and unethically logged
field of haptic aesthetics, this passive act is
within the Asia-Pacific rim. These sheets of
termed ‘tactile touch’ and is performed by the
plywood allowed me to restore an intimate
hand in service of the visual and aural senses.
haptic touch with the rainforest (the bush) and
In counterpoint to this, the ‘haptic touch’ is
I made over 2,000 prints from them in making
active. As the quintessential relational sense,1
these books. While abstraction permeates this
it moves over, across, and around surfaces,
anthology, I also gathered into the books visual
getting to know them intimately. In this
and textual quotes on touch. These are taken
anthology of artists books I have employed the
from a number of sources, including my own
haptic touch to convey content that the eye
work, Dreaming of Mt Giluwe.3
cannot sense. Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari assert that
Gathered into the codex form, these books position the haptic touch of books by artists
no book has an object or a subject other than
into the discourse of the emerging critical field
how it is made.2 The significance then of artists
of artists books. Tim Mosely – silverwattle bookfoundry
books lies in the relationships that are found or developed with how they were produced. The haptic touch played a central role in how I gathered the material and conceptual content of these artists books. Some of them took eighteen months to gather. The process involved collating, sequencing, altering, adding to, taking from, tearing, folding, feeling, and binding, which involved a myriad of
1.
haptic touches both literal and metaphorical. Two specific concerns informed what was
17–28. 2.
gathered: the rainforest and touch. These books were made through an intimate haptic touch of the rainforest.
Jennifer Fisher, “Tactile Affects,” Tessera 32 (Summer 2002):
Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus (London: Continuum, 2013), 2.
3.
Tim Mosely Dreaming of Mt Giluwe, 2012, 15 relief prints on Awagami Kozo paper, 170 x 450cm (see page 39).
Eight untitled prints made from the rainforest plywood, 2012–2014, 99x70cm.
Tim Mosely's "work is particularly concerned with the haptic qualities of the print, evoking the confluence of touch with aesthetic experience" Jess Berry
an insoluble difference from the deep coloured by touch privileged by blood textured by sight
8
an insoluable difference
from the deep Tim Mosely, 2013, unique artists book – single segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 32 x 76 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
9
10
an insoluable difference
coloured by touch Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
11
12
an insoluable difference
privileged by blood Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo, letterpress type, rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
13
14
an insoluable difference
textured by sight Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo, charcoal, rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
15
16
“Shades of ultramarine, azure, and violet sinuously sweep across the surface, inviting the viewer’s touch as they turn the page” Jess Berry
an archipelago of remnant gardens touching rainforest untitled kanage pholu wanda
18
an archipelago of remnant gardens
touching rainforest Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case bound, variable edition of 4, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 34 x 78 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
19
20
an archipelago of remnant gardens
untitled (as of 14th March 2014) Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case bound, variable edition of 8, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, felt, 34 x 42 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
21
22
an archipelago of remnant gardens
kanage pholu wanda Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case bound, variable edition of 11, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, felt, 52 x 68 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
23
24
“Mosely highlights that visual content is only part of the experience of reading a book� Jess Berry
the Sangre de Christo isles given with a kiss for given again
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
25
26
the Sangre de Christo isles
given Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
27
28
the Sangre de Christo isles
with a kiss Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
29
30
the Sangre de Christo isles
for given again Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
31
32
Mosely’s artwork “reveals how the print’s depth of surface can move beyond appearance to the experiential” Jess Berry
the haptic atolls tears that see book of tears one
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
33
34
the haptic atolls
tears that see Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case bound, variable edition of 8, relief prints on awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved folding folios, 36 x 53 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
35
36
the haptic atolls
the book of tears – one Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case bound, the first in the series, relief prints on awagami kozo, rainforest ply, 35 x 32 cm (open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
37
Tim Mosely – Artists Books Exhibitions & Collections exhibitions (selected) the Confluent´s Sea, solo exhibition, Webb Gallery, Griffith University, Qld
2014
Beneath the Surface, Gallery 105, Crane Arts, Philadelphia, USA Libris Awards 2013, Artspace Mackay, Qld (selected)
2013
An Inventory Of Al-Mutanabbi Street. An international Touring Exhibition (invited) Sense of Place in Artist Books, Architecture Library University of Minnesota, USA (curated)
2012
Codex Event 8, an Australian/British collaboration of pulp-printing, Manly Library, NSW Make Like an Eskimo, solo exhibition, POP Gallery, Griffith University, Qld The Silent Scream, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic (curated)
2011
Codex Event 8, POP Gallery, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld New Treasures, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld (curated)
2010
Artists books from Queensland collections, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, Qld (selected) Libris Awards 2010, Artspace Mackay, Qld (selected) reading between the marks, codex event 7, NEXT art Gallery, SCU, Lismore, NSW
2009
Freestyle Books, State Library of Queensland. Brisbane, Qld (curated)
2008
5th International Paper & Book Arts Triennial, Columbia College Chicago, USA (juried) pflight of the paper balloons, Tweed River Regional Art Gallery, NSW SCU Acquisitive Artists Book Award, Next Art Gallery SCU Lismore (acquired)
2007
Book Art 2006, Book Art Museum, LODZ, Poland (juried)
2006
4th International Artist's Book Triennial, Vilnius, Lithuania (juried) Seoul International Book Arts Competition. CO-EX, Seoul, Sth Korea, (juried) (awarded 3rd place).
artists books collections (selected) BIBLIOTHECA LIBORUM APUD ARTIFICEM (14 works) State Library of Queensland, Australian Library of Art (7 works) State Library of Victoria, Rare Books (2 works) Bower Ashton Library, Artist's Book Collection, University of West England, Bristol, UK Centre for Fine Print Research Artists Book Collection, UWE, UK Artspace Mackay, Artists Books Collection (2 works) National Library of Australia Carleton College Library, Artists Books Collection, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA The Neil Crawford Artists Book Collection, London (private) Bukarts Artists Book Collection, Vilnius, Lithuania Southern Cross University, Artists Books Collection (2 works).
38
List of Artworks coloured by touch
kanage pholu wanda
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single
Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case
segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo,
bound, variable edition of 11, relief prints on awagami
rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm (open).
kozo, rainforest ply, felt, 52 x 68 cm (open).
privileged by blood
given
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on
segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo,
awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved
letterpress type, rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm
folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
(open).
with a kiss
textured by sight
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book – single
awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved
segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo,
folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
charcoal, rainforest ply, felt, 70 x 104 cm (open).
for given again
from the deep
Tim Mosely, 2014, unique artists book, relief prints on
Tim Mosely, 2013, unique artists book – single
awagami kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved
segment case bound, relief prints on awagami kozo,
folding folio, 42 x 122 cm (open).
rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 32 x 76 cm (open).
the book of tears – one
untitled (as of 14th March 2014)
Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case
Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case
bound, the first in the series, relief prints on awagami
bound, variable edition of 8, relief prints on awagami
kozo, rainforest ply, 35 x 32 cm (open).
kozo, rainforest ply, felt, 34 x 42 cm (open).
tears that see
touching rainforest
Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case
Tim Mosely, 2014, artists book – single segment case
bound, variable edition of 8, relief prints on awagami
bound, variable edition of 4, relief prints on awagami
kozo, rubber stamps, rainforest ply, curved folding folios,
kozo, rainforest ply, curved folding folio, 34 x 78 cm
36 x 53 cm (open).
(open).
Tim Mosely
//
re/membering touch
39
credits Authors: Tim Mosely & George Petelin Editor: Evie Franzidis Photography: Eric Williamson Quotes: Jess Berry, from Beneath the Surface catalogue essay Published by: silverwattle bookfoundry and Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Designed by Rosalie Hinz at Liveworm Studio South Bank Exhibition held at the Fox Family White Gloves Room Level 4, State Library of Queensland ISBN: 9781922216403