Sara Terry – Elvis in the Tree

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Photographer: Sara Terry (b. Detroit and resides in Los Angeles, USA)

Text: English

Hardcover artist book (boards with hand stamp and hand inscription on cover) with elastic belly band, leporello interior design, pigment ink prints with clear corner stays, hand-printed, limited edition book of 10.

Photobook designer: Sara Terry

Notes: Sara Terry’s hand-made artist books in her 10 (X) series are a delight to hold and read. I have known Terry as the founder, artistic director and publisher of the Aftermath Project and her annual War is Half the Story stiff-cover books and that she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012 to support the publication of artist book Forgiveness and Conflict: Lessons from Africa. These are all very serious documentary style projects. What I was not aware of was her wonderful 10 (X) Editions until we had adjacent tables at Photo Independent last month. I found out about the not-so-serious side of Sara Terry!

I also quickly found that Terry is very particular about her books when I inadvertently did not place the elastic belly-band back on this book in the right place. Likewise she pays careful attention to the design details and production of her books; they are very well constructed and reading is a fun and enjoyable experience, especially as the leporello design unfolds the interior prints in your hands. For Elvis in the Tree, Terry states “It’s about trees. It’s about visual puns. And yep, it IS about Elvis in the tree.”

A simple but yet elegant book object that is well executed. Recommended.

Cheers

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