The Twelve Articles was created by Jeffery Morin. It’s a remediation of The Twelve Accusations of Joan of Arc. In this artbook, Morin compares the trials of a man dealing with his AIDS diagnosis to the trials of Joan of Arc.
The pictures are what drew me to this book. As a printmaker myself, I was thrilled to see a familiar technique on the page and wanted to explore it more. It’s not very often that you get to get up close and personal with someone else’s prints and examine the fibers of the paper, smell the paper, and dare I say… taste the paper. (Don’t worry, I didn’t!)
Morin is an American artist and owner of Sailor Boy Press. This studio produces artist books that center around themes of social justice. As I explored the Sailor Boy Press website, I found that many of the artist books that were published are remediations in some way. Morin has illustrated and adapted texts by the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Horace Smith, and Oscar Wilde, to name a few. I’d like to assume that these are people and texts that Morin identified with and use them as kickboards to create his own works of art. Presumably, artbooks with connections to these prolific figures would attract readers and viewers who also cared about the artists and their interest in how Morin could adapt them.
Since this is an art book, its primary audience is likely to be quite small and includes collectors, librarians, galleries, and museums. Craft and skill are at the forefront of these handcrafted books This is not a book you can order on Amazon.com or pick up at your local book shop. The folks who will intentionally come into contact with this book are likely to be middle class or higher, and folks who have a strong appreciation for creative arts.
This book lives inside of a handcrafted box which will protect it from the elements as time goes on. At the moment, there doesn’t appear to be any discoloration due to light exposure, moisture, or other elements that threaten to life of a book. There is some variation of color on the pages, however, it is most likely because the paper is hand-made from torn rags, and has a recycled quality. A book that lives inside the box has the potential to be forgotten and never looked at again. It’s kind of sad to think about, especially considering all the labor and care that goes into a limited-edition handmade book like this. On Vamp and Tramp Booksellers’ website, one edition of this book goes for $1000 dollars, which is quite a price for a book that may only be looked at from time to time, if at all. With a price that steep, it could narrow the access of this book to an even smaller pool of wealthy collectors or establishments. Although I think this book is beautiful and well crafted, I don’t think that a person like me was the desired audience but I feel very privileged to have befriended this book at this time!