ARTIST BOOKS
by Joe D'Ambrosio
Of more than ninety different works over the years,
a few copies remain of recent titles.
The following are works that are presently available.
This soliloquy to a woman who decided to remain alone on a mountain after the man who helped build their dream died and left her alone is a tribute not only to the lady but to the rigors of the high desert of Joshua Tree in Southern California.To present the tribute, five boxes are hinged together with brass rods in the shape of a mountain with a mesa top. The boxes are made of 4-ply archival board and covered with ostrich-grained leather. The depth of each box allows for three-dimensional collages to accompany the poetry written by Joe D'Ambrosio so that the senses while reading are constantly considering the associated tactile surfaces.
Letterpress printed from digital-oriented plates.
The price of the book includes a Plexiglas hexagonal display case.
Price: $1800.00 each (includes shipping)
Size: 9.5 inches high
Edition: 25 signed and numbered copies (At this time only one copy remains for sale.)
by Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
A book-in-a-box structure whereby the author's satiric telling of two French prostitues who treat their profession as any merchant entrepreneur is rendered in 3-dimensional layers to reflect the satire employed by the author in this dark comedy. Their tranquil lives are disturbed when the younger girl falls in love with a customer and performs without charge. The "shame" of the act weighs heavily on all concerned. Letterpress printed from hand set Greeting Monotone type. This book features handmade paper by Madeleine Pestiaux.
Price: $500.00 (includes shipping)
Size: 6x9 inches - Edition: 75 signed and numbered copies
by Sheila Ponterini with a preamble by Joe D'Ambrosio
La Famiglia is a miniature book of five boxes preceded by 24 pages of text. The text outlines the general communication, and the depth of the boxes highlight those thoughts by using visual collages to further enhance the emotional impact. The boxes (made of archival board) and the pages, are first adhered and then sewn to brass rods which keeps the entire structure intact. Letterpress printed from digital-oriented plates. The book is presented in a sculptural slipcase. This work addresses the dichotomy of antiabortionists to save a life
and the use of the death penalty to take one.
Price: $450.00 (includes shipping)
Size: 2.875" wide x 2.875" high x 2.375" deep
Edition: 50 signed and numbered copies
This fanciful tale by Joe D'Ambrosio and intended for the child in all of us endeavors to explain why the cactus is indigenous to the desert southwest. Poetic license is broadly taken to bring together a Mexican male indian from Oaxaca with a Siouan female from the plains, and their fight for suvival against the Gods,
Quetzalcoatl and Coatlicue.
The special edition is bound in goat, silver strips on leather, and banana paper, with numrous inclusions which include gold and silver leaf, copper and aluminum leaf, and a pop-up quetzal bird completely covered in its true-colored feathers.
Presented in a clam-shell box.
The regular edition is essentially the same except that it does not have the inclusions. It is bound in suede cloth and mulberry paper in a Zapotec design. It is presented in a raffia-tied wraparound. Both editions have telescoping spines which collapse into the back cover and allow the book to open wider to better enjoy its pop-up features.
Price: Regular Edition - $225.00 (includes shipping) - (Note: Special Edition Sold Out)
Size: 5.25x8.5 inches
Edition: Special - 25 signed and numbered copies/Regular - 100 signed and numbered copies
by Ann Whipple
A lively and erudite account gleaned from the author's notebook of her daily bus rides between the East Bay and San Francisco, through the city of Oakland and over the Bay Bridge. This account includes her reactions to the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake. Ink-jet printed from digitally mastered text with paragraphs separated by rows of continuous buildings mirroring an actual bus ride through the city of San Francisco. Printed on gray-blue paper to reflect contrast between a blue sky and an incoming fog. Original graphic print on front cover created from letterpressed paper plates. Quarter bound in hard cover with dark blue cloth.
Price: $65.00 (includes shipping)
Size: 5x8 inches
Edition: 250 copies
Size = 21 inches high x 15 inches wide
The inscription at the bottom reads:
There was a young man who was so handsome, so brilliant, and so talented,
that his attributes out-shown the sun, causing the death of the earth
and all the inhabitants there, including the young man.
and clearly indicates in which direction his future work would take him:
words and images together.
$1,200.00
please contact Joe D'Ambrosio at
joebooks@cox.net (or) Telephone: 480-951-5212
or visit LORSON'S BOOKS for a larger selection.