Series Title: Book of the Lagoons
Timeframe: 1974-1984
Exhibitions:
Timeframe: 1974-1984
Exhibitions:
- 1985 Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 1987 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
- 2011 Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
- 2012 Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, CA
The Book of the Lagoons happened as a consequence of our MetroMedia patron John Kluge’s realization that the scale of the Lagoon Cycle was such that it could be shown only at museums, and could we make a quarter-sized model that could more easily be seen by many. After making a few half-, quarter-, and even third sized pieces, nothing worked. Finally we came to the conclusion that we had to turn the whole Lagoon Cycle into a hand-made book, and that this hand-made book would be approximately one fifth size, using the original imagery but the entire work needing to be recomposed. It turned out to be 45 images with the original text unchanged. We set out to make 30 copies, but only managed about 20. To do this we set up a book team, somewhat like a medieval scriptorium, and did almost 1 000 pages all by hand. The core insight was that the big Lagoon Cycle surrounded those who encountered it. The book was designed as an intimate experience where the reader literally commanded the imagery. Oddly, although the images changed a bit, the text remained the same. John’s request that it be seen by many became true as the book has been exhibited frequently.
