CaiLun.info

Strike against SOPA

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:53:37 -0500

This very blog you're reading right now will participate in the strike on January 18th from 8AM to 8PM (EST) in support the cause to stop the "web censorship bills" (SOPA and PIPA). It will go dark and will not be available during that time period.

How 'Pages' was created - Part 3

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:22:00 -0500

(Continued from part one and two)

Happy New Year! Okay, now where was I? It's about time to wrap up this series of posts. Last time, I talked about using custom jigs and securing the pages onto the cords. There is still a small piece of quick tip that I'd like to share.

Little signatures
It so happened that I was in the process of making a batch of little signatures, and apparently they were perfect to prop up the pages as well. When these little signatures are packed together, they allow me to quickly insert and pull out photos to check and see if they align right. They also have a spring-like flexibility so that they don't stress out the photographs.

This piece relies on a slight offset of each of the images and it's important to double check if they are in the right order before gluing.

How 'Pages' was created - Part 2

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:52:47 -0500

(Continued from part one)

Using the jigs
Before all the "pages" are securely attached to the four cords, they need to be propped up. The jigs keep each of the pages in place, while they also provide a relatively sturdy structure when the cords are pulled taut.

Securing pages onto cords
Once the cotton cords were pulled taut through the pages, I applied a tiny drop of PVA glue onto each of the joints. A squeeze bottle with a tiny tip worked great for this.

When dried, the PVA prevents the pages from shifting on the cords, so as to maintain even spacings between them. Supports at the front and back of the train worked with the jigs to keep the structure upright. Once the PVA dried, the structure became pretty sturdy and can now stand on itself.

By the way, that's my trusted HP-22S scientific calculator in the second picture. I had it since high school, it's been 20+ years and it's still working great.

(To be continued.)

How 'Pages' was created - Part 1

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:29:29 -0500

Pages took me about a little bit over a month to create. It was quite a cautiously-made piece: for every step, I had to be extra diligent and careful, as mistakes couldn't be covered up easily.

Pages is constructed from images of eight of my earlier volumes, which are held onto 4 cord cords with PVA glue.

Model
Before working with the photographs, I made a model to see if PVA would be strong enough to keep the card stock on the cotton cords (I had a lot of old name cards to spare.) I also wanted to see if I could avoid using grommets, which would add unnecessary bulk. I wanted the piece to be as minimalistic as possible, so extra hardware just doesn't sound like a good idea.

Arranging the photos
The photos were then printed and trimmed, stacked and ordered. Each photo in a group offsets slightly to create a staggering effect. By looking at the edges, I double checked to make sure the order was correct. I placed a card stock in front of the first photo to protect the print surface from accidental scratches and finger prints.

Spacers/jigs
After piercing each of the photos, they were ready to be threaded with cotton cords, a few photos at a time. The challenge then was to keep them at equidistant from each other, while the cords are pulled taut when I applied PVA at the joints.

I made eight jigs of equal thickness from scrap boards. The center of the jigs is hollow to reduce waste and for the ease of handling. I could move the jigs around without touching the photos on each side of the jigs.

(To be continued.)

Rapunzel's finally home

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:15:05 -0500

A little over a year ago, Rapzunel left home and traveled from New York to Delaware then to Maryland. Now she's back with me.

When the package was dropped off by the art handler, I couldn't wait to open it, as if it were a present. I opened the box excitedly, then felt a little bit emotional. I truly missed her!

Title change?

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:54:45 -0400

Do artists change the title of their work? Especially when the work has been exhibited and documented in various places?

I have absolutely no idea.

Originally, I titled this piece Hokusai's Yurei (Hokusai's Ghost), but a few months ago I finally realized that it makes no sense. Since then, the title has been bugging me mad.

You see, I intended to use Romanji (Romanization of Japanese characters) and English together, but the Romanji part was not exactly Japanese. It had an apostrophe! It was English. The word yurei was also incorrect: it should've be yūrei.

Today, I am changing it once and for all: 北斎の幽霊 Hokusai No Yūrei (Hokusai's Ghost). It now has Japanese, Romaji and English, which covers all the bases!

It's my work, afterall, I can call it whatever I want, isn't it? Indeed, mistakes are also part of the process.

LetterMpress

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:48:40 -0400

The letterpressed thank you card from LetterMpress arrived yesterday for my Kickstarter support. I've had the app installed on my iPad for a while now, but honestly I feel that the controls are a little off and I often find myself frustrated not being able to grab or drag objects around. Looking forward to the next update.
Continue reading "LetterMpress"

Name cards

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:31:43 -0400

I have been giving away these new name cards for a few months now. In fact, I have also made a second batch to give away during my solo this past summer. Apparently they were a big hit, or so I was told.

Since I have seen those mini cards from Moo that people have, I've always wanted them for myself. They might not be handmade, but they are easy to order, and each card can have different prints. It certainly is a great way to showcase my work, and the cropped photos works really well with this form factor.

They are really cute, and because they're so much smaller than a postcard and business card, maybe they would create less waste when people decide to discard them after picking them up from the gallery. Boo hoo!

Maybe someone would want to collect the whole set one day...

What's up?

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:29:58 -0400

It certainly feels like summer just flew right by me. Despite my occasional tweets and Facebook posts, I've been really quiet.

There is always something in our lives that we said we'd want to do, but either we procrastinate or just avoid it, until it's too late. Since I had my boy cat Yogi in 2008, I've been wanting to make a book about him. Well, he passed at the end of June. He was only a little more than 4 years old and it was really devastating. This experience pretty much clouded my whole summer. Most days were gloomy since.

Then again, it might be a good idea to make a book about him to help myself grieve. Maybe. Perhaps. That's not something I could force myself too hard into doing.

That pretty much summed up my summer, which explains why it felt like it just flew right by. The equinox is only 10 more days away.

I can only hope that fall will be better. Afterall, fall is my favorite season of the year. This fall, both of my Rapunzels are away on display. One at Towson University and the other at NOPX in Turin. Things are happening again.

And I shall write again.

Phoenix Gallery show opening

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:35:01 -0400

Last Thursday I had an awesome opening at Phoenix Gallery. I was lucky enough to have my solo show alongside with four other talented artists: David Bogus, John Breiner, Heechan Kim and Rebecca Rose.

Here is a list of the work that are showing until July 16:

Hokusai's Yurei (Hokusai's Ghost) (2010)

The Ugly Duckling (2010)

Duotone #2 (2010) and Duotone (2009)

Continue reading "Phoenix Gallery show opening"

Two upcoming shows this Summer

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:56:40 -0400

Friends know that I have a detest for the summer in New York. While I am still enjoying the last leg of spring, I am already dreading for the heat waves coming in the next few months. I am not kidding.

However, with two upcoming shows in the city this Summer, that would possibly make New York City Summer a more bearable for me! Hot!

Phoenix Gallery (June 22 - July 16, 2011)

Rapunzel #2.
© 2011 Dennis Yuen.

Opening next week is my solo at Phoenix Gallery. The show will feature a number of pieces, including Hokusai's Yurei (2011) and Rapunzel #2 (2011). (To go along with the show, I will be writing about the process behind these two pieces in the coming weeks.)

From the press release:

No. 19 is Phoenix Gallerys 19th Annual Juried Competition and is curated and juried by Renée Vara. The show, taking its cue from Bauhaus philosophy, suggests that the impulse to create an aesthetic that unifies fine art, design, and fashion, has come to full completion. Dennis Yuen was awarded the solo show. The exhibition will also feature 4 finalists David Bogus, John Breiner, Heechan Kim, and Rebecca Rose.

The Center for Book Arts (July 6, 2011 - September 10, 2011)
Then throughout the rest of summer, Pages (2011) will be hung in the air-conditioned Center for Book Arts while I sweat like crazy on the streets. The show is entitled The Un(framed) Photograph, curated by Alexander Campos and Doug Beube.

This exhibition, featuring current members of CBA's artistic community and other invited artists whose work will further the discourse, will focus on how the art of photography, the photographic process, and related media such as video stills are used to convey content, form, text, and image within a broader context of book arts practices. Artworks featured in this exhibition will represent a broad range of book and related arts, including but not limited to books, prints, sculpture, mixed-media installation, new media, and performance art.

New work - Pages (2011)

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:46:47 -0400

First of all, click on the image on the right to see a larger version!

Earlier in March I have posted an image of the photographic elements of this new piece that I've been working. It's been completed, and I am sticking with my initial working title, Pages.

Pages is constructed from images of eight of my earlier volumes. The images capture each book's unique structure and composition. Each image repeats eight times, offset slightly to create a shifting motion. Each level is both a page and an image of a page, and collectively they create a changing visual pattern as the viewer moves around the piece.

Traditional book forms have a fluid structure that changes as readers turn or flip through their pages. In this piece, the fluid structures of the original books, now frozen within a single fixed external form, are collectively transformed into a new visual structure, one made fluid by the changing perspectives of the readers who must circle the piece to gain its entirety.

Soon I will be posting images of the process. I have come up with a few techniques which I thought could be pretty useful for other projects as well.

The piece will participate in Center for Book Arts' Artist Members Annual Exhibition entitled "The Photograph Unframed" from July 6, 2011 - September 10, 2011.

Work from childhood - Paper mask

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:41:02 -0400

It's time for reminiscence!

I created this mask in my art and crafts class, probably around the age of 14. The objective was to attach objects onto a card board, and then cover the whole mask and objects with mull paper, at the end finish with paints.

For the objects, I used two folded stars on each of the top corners, buttons for the eyes, popsicle stick (of course) and medicine spoon for the nose, two ginko nuts on the left cheek, three soy beans for the mouth, stack of matches on the right cheek, an automatic pencil on the top left, and a portion of toilet paper core for the chin.

It certainly had a pharaoh motive.

I might have gotten a B+ for this work, and my art teacher hung it on the school studio's wall for a few years. That was probably the only work that I've done in school that got hung up. And I was so proud of it that I had to wrap it in plastic.

Duotone #3

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:32:00 -0400

Duotone #3. © Dennis Yuen 2010.

The idea of this next piece in the Duotone series started with the bindinglong-stitching in particular. I imagined a stack of stitches aligning orderly on a flat surface, instead of only on the width of a spine. The front and back covers of the book are one flat piece together. And then the signatures would just fan out behind the cover boards.

The piece consists of two different books, one is tall and narrow, the other short and wide. As in other pieces in the series, they have contrasting qualities in color elements.

The long-stitching started out with some planning. I mapped out the holes that Id want on the spine and therefore segments of threads that they will create. Its like playing with connect the dots, an even number of holes (dots) will create an odd number of thread segments (lines).

When piercing holes on boards, its better to piece from the right side in. Since the awl pushes the board materials out the side where it exits, keeping those excess inside and tucked away is more desirable. I need the cover to be clean and flat, only the threads should be visible. But how can I mark the holes without any pencil markings on the cover?
Continue reading "Duotone #3"

Duotone #2

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:06:00 -0400

The Duotone series use solely black-and-white materials to create contrasting elements and to accentuate the structure and form of the objects. (See the first Duotone piece.)

This second piece in the series consists of two structurally identical books, while the elements within each book are the exact opposite (or reverse) of the other's: black vs. white, top vs. bottom.

Originally, when I first conceived the piece, both books have their signatures (book block) sitting at the bottom, their extended covers protruding upwards. After they were sewn, I put them together side by side as I had drafted in my notebook. I looked around the piece back to front, and I thought it was all right.
Continue reading "Duotone #2"

(Not quite) new works

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:20:40 -0400

There have been a few pieces of recent work that I have completed for a while now, and I haven't written anything about them here. It's about time to give them some attention, partly because I'd like to document the process. Personally, the process of creation is as important as, if not more than, the finished piece itself.

New work begins

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:44:00 -0400

A glimpse of a new piece that I am working on. The working title that I have in mind: Pages.

Is Twitter making me lazy to write?

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:39:55 -0500

This has to be the major reason why I havent been blogging much that I have been posting links on Twitter pretty much all the time. Its obviously quick and easy, I dont have to write anything to elaborate, I just need to come up with a few words, and then click. Done. Its on Facebook and everyone can see it. Time to move on to the next topic.

I certainly couldve talked more about the things that Ive encountered lately, such as the awesome iPad letterpress project on Kickstarter, that pair of beautiful scissors designed by Karim Rashid which Ive bought, those audio interviews with bookbinders and book artists that Susan Mills has started conducting and posting online, or even those human skin-bound books that I saw at the Mutter Museum.

But why not? I certainly wanted to rant about why I thought the iPad letterpress project is such a great idea, and how I disagreed with printmakers who oppose it. I wanted to talk about how exciting it is to use a piece of well-designed tool in bookmaking. I also wanted to document my thoughts on seeing the human skin books.

Am I just lazy? Or do I simply have too many distractions?

At this moment, all I can think of is the sadness I have for the people in Japan. The massive earthquake and tsunami is simply indescribable. I can't even begin to fathom the emotional and physical stress people in Japan are feeling right now. All the best wishes that I can send over there.

私はとても悲しいです。今、日本に幸運とご多幸を祈る...

Final two rabbit paper cuts

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:15:00 -0500

The final two rabbit paper cuts celebrating the Year of the Rabbit!

Chinese New Year - Day 3

nospam@example.com (Dennis) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 11:00:00 -0500

Today's rabbit paper cuts:

The third day of Chinese New Year is said to be the the day of arguments, therefore people avoid socializing or visiting friends and families. Keep your mouth shut!