Window (first class)

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BACKGROUND The Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington State writes: A book can be many things: an object, a source of knowledge, a cultural artifact or an idea. From each volume, layers of meaning and subtext can be mined, not only from the words and images inside, but from the subtle design elements, the materiality of its pages and spine, and its symbolic value as a recorder of human evolution.(http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/past/2009/book_borrowers.html) The contemporary artist's book has absorbed many conceptual frameworks, as well as many art mediums and technologies-from letterpress and time-honoured binding techniques to the latest digital printing technologies-and an array of unconventional formats as contemporary artists question the changing nature of the book and its importance as a physical object in this digital age. CONTRIBUTION "Window (first class)" contributes to contemporary discourse surrounding the social role of the artists' book, being constructed entirely from recycled envelopes which also drive the "narrative". The recycled business envelopes from which make up the pages of the book are themselves signifiers of consumption, more often than not containing bills for goods or resources consumed. The window that usually reveals the consumer's address is transformed into an aeroplane window, the air travel reference not only alludes to conspicuous consumption, but also to air mail correspondence. Likewise, the "first class" distinction applies to both air travel and postal services. SIGNIFICANCE The book was one of 70 finalists selected by the curatorial staff of Artspace Mackay, for final judging by eminent art historian Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin AM. The biannual Libris Awards were established in 2006, building upon Mackay's standing as a national centre for Australian Artists' Books, a reputation it has held since 1995, and which was cemented with Tate Adams' gift of several hundred artists books and works on paper in 2003.