Bookbinding
Space research, exploration and aesthetics have been an interest of mine since I was a child. Unconventional histories, particularly that of Russia and the Soviet Union have long interested me as well. In these selected works, I combined those interests with design and construction to create hand-bound books.
The process of bookbinding is tedious and challenging, but it is a nearly ancient art. While the art form has long since lost it’s utility, the challenge of binding has taken a new form by blending digital art and graphic design with glue, paper, and photography.
Mir – Russia’s Leap Into Space
This work is a large-format, perfect-bound book depicting the history of the Mir space station which operated from 1986 to 2001.
Mir was the first modular space station, setting the stage for the later International Space Station and served as proving ground for long-term habitation in a zero gravity environment. In addition to it’s scientific discoveries, it also served as a key setting for international collaboration in space.
Poor Liza – Nikolai Karamzin
Most known for his 12-volume History of the Russian State, Karmazin was a prolific and highly influential writer in the late 18th and early 19th century. Poor Liza is perhaps Karamzin’s most notable work of fiction. This work is credited with introducing the Sentimentalism movement into Russian literature, and is a work commonly taught in Slavic schools.
I designed and bound this translation from Carl R. Proffer in the style of Russian Constructivism. The book is perfect-bound.
