Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an architect, designer and painter whose major work was influential around the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century. His work is a paradox of reduction and enrichment combining the rational with the expressive, and he unified the crisply rectangular with delicate curves. His Glasgow School of Art is considered the first great monument of modern architecture and a fortuitous combination of industrial Glasgow with touches of contemporary Japan. He utilised the new technologies of central heating and electric light, plate glass and machine-finished timber, yet the decorative elements give it the appearance of hand craftsmanshhip.
The structure of my book however is based on the design of his cabinets which show his use of reduction and enrichment and the influence of Japan, and which are displayed with the top doors open and look like the shape of a Japanese kimono.
I started with a French door book and cut white PVC to size.
I made the central page of text with lines and grids on it's covers and cut out some of the squares.
I drew some Mackintosh roses (which he often used as stained glass)
and covered with lines with gilding mix
Added gold leaf to suggest the lead lines
The roses were painted the customary Mackintosh pink and the upper lift-out pages of the book were put into place on the PVC, after the folds had been reinforced with Ramieband tape. They were attached to the book back.
The centre page was put into position over the top page assembly.
and the front covers were attached
The next post will include the last two books in the series, the two book sculptures Le Courbusier and Libeskind.
