Bookworm.
The Art of Rosamond Purcell.
Artwork by Rosamond Purcell. Introduction by Sven Birkerts.
Books are man-made artifacts designed to convey information. When they are inevitably invaded by forces of nature and decay, they become suggestive of an alternative literary universe. Noted photographer and collage artist Rosamond Purcell has been exploring this universe for the past thirty years, and in this extraordinarily beautiful collection, the first retrospective of her work, her images teach us to read in a new way. Here are two conjoined volumes transformed by a nesting mouse into a heap of disrupted plot and straw; a 19th century French economics text re-interpreted by foraging termites, and many other oddities from a fertile imagination. Bookworm’s one hundred and twenty-five color reproductions are imaginative evidence of those processes that render literal meaning irrelevant.
With her camera, Rosamond Purcell has long meditated on
how human beings classify and thus know the world. In
Bookworm, she turns her eye, indeed her whole attention,
to one of the oldest forms of collecting and conveying
knowledge—the book. When books decay, what is left of
narrative? The viewer/reader begins to (re)construct
knowledge from memories of other books, past experience,
scraps of words and, in some of Purcell's photographs,
faded and stained images that are now layered
with the skeletons and body parts of rodents, birds, and
insects that have left their marks and remains. Since childhood,
Purcell has collected ruined objects and damaged
books. Her persistent question is, how is knowledge
constructed when the ravages of time leave only layers of
decay? Purcell's photo-essay is the successful poetic
explanation of her feverishly haunting constructions.
But books about books, and particularly art and
photobooks, succeed best as objects of art, wherein the
tactile quality of the materials used has been carefully
considered. And while I have always loved Purcell’s
photographs, I found myself quite conscious of Bookworm
as an object, and want to make note of certain shortcomings.
Her images all look a bit too blue, acknowledging that
it is difficult to determine whether the artist’s palette is
truly predominated by the palest of blues without the originals
on hand. Each of her images are rich with densely layered
information, and the small trim-size of the book, and
thus the images almost register around 4x6 inches, makes
this reader inexplicably anxious, as if something of great
importance is being missed. Ultimately, there is a feeling of
loss that permeates this work and volume, which when
placed in relation to my own joy of book collecting, drives
home the point that all objects, and knowledge itself are
subject to the vicissitudes of time.-MARY ANNE REDDING
![]()
BookTease™
Ordering Information
This item is currently unavailable from photo-eye, however we have located copies for you to purchase
immediately through
Amazon Marketplace
.
We will receive credit for these orders if you use our ordering system. We will also receive credit for any
other purchases you make while on Amazon's site. Thank you for supporting photo-eye!
Why Amazon?
The explosive growth in photography book publishing has presented photo-eye with an interesting challenge along with what we think is an exciting opportunity.
How can we continue to offer an ever-increasing inventory of photography books, keep those books continuously in stock and compete with the online deep discounters on price and shipping? The answer is that we can shift much our fulfillment to the web's most efficient book operation, Amazon.com.
Now we are happy to offer you Amazon's discounts on books which are almost always in stock from either Amazon directly or Amazon Marketplace. We can also provide you with the same shipping options that Amazon provides, including on qualified orders (Amazon Prime), free shipping.
It's important to understand that you will still be supporting photo-eye (we get credit) if you order from Amazon or Amazon Marketplace through photoeye.com. We make it easy for you to do this by providing links to Amazon. However, you must use the provided button or links so that we get credit. If you continue shopping at Amazon during the same session, we get credit for those sales too!
You may still opt to purchase a particular title from photo-eye directly even though the same book is available through Amazon at a less expensive price.
Here are some of the reasons why you might choose to purchase books from Amazon...
-
Lowest Prices. Amazon is the leading discounter on the web.
-
In Stock. Most books are constantly available from Amazon directly or through Amazon's Marketplace.
-
Diverse Selection. Over 35,000 art and photography book titles are in stock.
-
Free shipping. Many book orders totaling over $25 are available for free shipping.
-
Shipping Costs. If not free, shipping charges are lower than most other websites.
Here are some of the reasons why you might choose to purchase books directly from photo-eye...
-
Diverse Selection. We carry signed books, limited editions, foreign titles, and small press titles that are not available through Amazon.
-
Pristine Condition. We pay special attention to the condition of the books we send out.
-
Book Advice. We cater to collectors. You can email or talk to us on the phone about a book before purchasing it.
-
Customer Service. If there is a problem with an order, you can email or call our customer service department.
-
Library Jackets. You may add a library jacket to most hardbound books that include dustjackets.
-
Expert Packing. We care about packing your order properly to lessen the chance that corners will be bumped.
-
Biodegradable Materials. We use biodegradable shipping materials for most orders.
Why Amazon Marketplace?
We have found copies of this book for sale on Amazon Marketplace. Amazon Marketplace is where booksellers from around the world list and sell books through Amazon's website.
Just click on the link below and you'll be taken to an order page on Amazon.com. Choose any Marketplace seller's book(s) and add them to your Amazon.com shopping cart. When you check out you will purchase the book through Amazon's system. The book will be sent directly to you from a Marketplace seller instead of from Amazon or photo-eye.
You will still be supporting photo-eye (we get credit) if the book is ordered through Amazon via the link below. In fact, if you stay on Amazon.com and do more shopping, we get credit for that too! Many thanks!
