Have you been wondering who the winners of the Flag Book Bind-O-Rama challenge are? Wonder no longer. The twenty-eight winning books are being featured in an online exhibit on the Book Arts Web. And, as promised, the exhibit also appears in the latest edition of the Bonefolder (Volume 3, Number 1), which I highly recommend downloading and reading, even if it takes a long time for those of you with dial-up connections.
It was hard to chose which books to feature here, they are all wonderful in different ways. Content, materials, and structure are important elements in all but what I found is that usually one dominates and because it does the book makes a statement.
Starting at the top and working down, Hedi Kyle, originator of the flag book technique, uses the traditional structure that she developed, but the very untraditional material of mica to capture the play of light and shadow that has captured her interest. “I often envision the flag book as a movable screen to define space,” she says in her statement. Marcia Ciro’s book compares the man-made car environment with the natural environment. As successful as the comparison may be, the placement of the car side mirrors and their repetition reminds me of clasped hands and interlocked fingers with the mirrors representing fingernails. In Esther Kibby’s book, the Native American story, How Porcupine Got His Quills, is used to explore flag shapes that become a sculptural book. Finally, I could not resist, Sheila Cunningham’s book, Shut Your Mouth. It’s funny and visceral. Makes me want to laugh and tremble at the same time. I'm sure if I get close I will feel the air reverberating.
Top to Bottom:
Hedi Kyle, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Marcia Ciro, Watertown, MA, USA
Esther Kibby, Dallas, TX, USA
Sheila Cunningham, Dallas, TX, USA
