The ten books each have their own slipcase or box and are contained in a large box.
The architects and works included in the piece are not a totally structured history and development of architecture, but include things that interest me.
In this post I will talk about Book No 4, Alberti. To Vitruvius' three qualities necessary for perfection - Utilitas (Function), Firmitas (Structure) and Venustas (Design and Beauty), Alberti added Numeros (Numbers), Finito (Proportion), Collocatio (Location or Arrangement) and Concinnitas (A well adjusted whole). Alberti's architecture is constructed according to proportional theory and he uses classic arches and columns decoratively rather than structurally.
For this reason I decided to make the book look a bit like a facade.
As a background to the pages I used illustrations of Alberti's architecture showing how the proportional theory worked in his designs, and I also found some facsimile pages from Alberti's 'Ten Books' (in Latin) and I made faded grey copies of these in Photoshop.
Each page contains overlaid text of important points about architecture from Alberti's ten books De re aedificatoria. The printed pages were assembled with a folded gutter between each page to give the raised effect of the facade.
The covers were made from white PVC. I used this a lot around 2005-2006 as I liked the solid white appearance. After cutting the covers I sanded the edges to make them smooth and rounded. A blind design based on Alberti's proportional theory was drawn into the PVC with an embossing tool.
The next posts will be about the two books based on the Turkish Map Fold, Queenslander and Brunelleschi.
5 comments:
Your book conveys the feelings of harmony and proportion perfectly. It's a bit like looking at the Parthenon under a peaceful, thinly clouded sky. I'm Greek so I know what I'm talking about :)
I'm really enjoying the posts on this 'collection'. Looking forward to the rest
I really love this series of books Helen and especially how they snug up together so artistically in their home. Each individual book has its own artistic merit but housed together form a really beautiful collection.
Hi Helen - my comment on your last post probably got eaten by blogger - there have been a few days where it just goes zap. My main word was awe. I love the elegance of this series of books; the attention to detail, and the individual bits that make each of them special. Thank you for showing them to us - I am enjoying the story and the visuals. But of course want to reach out thru the computer and turn them or hold them or...
Thank you ersi, for your lovely comment, I love the Parthenon too!
Thanks Jac I've been enjoying following your progress posts too.
Thanks Susan for visiting. Your comment is much appreciated.
Thanks Fiona, I'm pleased you have appreciated seeing the books so far - it's nice to share them even though it's not quite the same as being able to see and hold the original book in your hand.
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