Sunday, 28 January 2007

Transformation

What is transformation really? And what has my art to do with it?

Transformation is the process by which one thing is converted into another that is equivalent in some important respect but is differently expressed or represented. Like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

My art expresses transformation in several ways. First, it expresses my own transformation as I live and learn. And because people are more alike than different and share more characteristics and experiences than not, other people frequently see themselves and their experiences in my art.

Second, the books I alter are themselves transformed, from literary expressions into graphical ones, and sometimes from “pages glued or sewn together on one side and bound in covers” into interactive objects with reader-activated parts. I do this by conveying my ideas and experiences by way of multimedia images which I then attach to the pages of printed books. I may alter the architecture of the book as well, creating windows, doors, foldouts, pop-ups, sliders and other devices which allow each viewer to engage with the art uniquely.

And finally, it is my hope that each viewer will be affected by my art in some transformative way, taking away from the experience some shared truth or feeling and expressing it uniquely.

1 comment:

Lori Z. said...

Nona, what a wonderful way to describe the process and product of an altered book, and its reason for being! I LOVE the photos of your travel journal. They're so colorful and exciting and inspiring. I want to hop on a plan right now!