The Book AsMain MenuA Repository of InformationA PerformanceA JourneyJessie CarterA Conceptual Playground for Choice(sagesolar, 2014, “The king of hearts”)A Medium for Universal LanguageA Phenomenal ReadingA Relationship Between Recto and VersoA Vision of the FutureA Repository of LanguageKate Aberman74d96e55dd29b74bef0e0a20c2d79e879fab26ccEmmie Banksd3c00922e17d33400599c8143d1d353f7d36ea7aJessie Cartera6f04f02805133baaf416ab9fcd9a4a2b857b080Deanna Fayed2f0ded76fb9215a15ea7a11b638a892a604843bfGabby Huberta3f266b029aa2bada1c10fd4a31317d37a1bec9dKatherine King6125a92332113f4973e618b8e428aac70a6ed790Carol Leea596a4440954bb8282b044cb431f3d2b8a9a8e75Sarah Richmanbeb66f0b62cd0c55d75ac46cfcf447f52ffe6aa8Matthew Winz5800f51dc1a62f1d2397973f41e4b16a521351b3whitney trettienf2bbb7126b60dc1bee07050dccbd9d30f12d7b2b
1media/16628213630_aef542bcb3_z.jpg2016-12-06T09:58:54-08:00Unreadable Text: Book from the Sky15image_header3583562016-12-11T21:33:13-08:00A precursor to Book from the Ground, Xu Bing comprises his 1987 Book from the Sky entirely of self-generated Chinese-esque characters. Around 4,000 characters were created from elements of Chinese characters, fashioned to look authentic, and carved into wooden blocks to be stamped into the book. Each character feels sickeningly familiar, and the utter inundation of unreadable text forms a sense of lost hopelessness--a top-down flood instituted by some higher being. The contrast and contradiction of the proletarian distribution method (woodblock) to the exclusive, unreadable, language of the deities continues to strike viewers.
