Sandra Jackman ~ New York

Sandra Jackman: "In my opinion, an important part of art is to challenge, entertain, and encourage a dialogue.

"The book is my subject. Reading is my inspiration. The blank page is my passport – my freedom to journey wherever....The blank page need not be made of paper. The transfer of information need not be made of words. An artist's book need not be a facsimile. Often I translate the book into a sculptural construction – a composition that suggests...."

War Tome - To Be Continued
By Sandra Jackman
New York: 2009, Sandra Jackman. One-of-a-kind.

15 x 12 x 3" closed, 15 x 25 x 3" open. Collage. Archival ink. Acid-free paper. Cloth-covered box.

War Tome is one in a series of three unique book sculptures about War. Each consists of paper sculptures created from original drawings in archival ink on acid-free paper.

Sandra Jackman: "The text is collaged or reworked from Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot (Waiting for God to…?)

"The question I am most often asked when people view a work I have done based upon war is 'Why war?' Funny, I am always surprised by this.

"Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are our wars for this new century. Throughout my life (which includes World War II) somebody's homeland was being crushed, somebody's family uprooted or destroyed. Government against government spilling precious blood. Yesterday's friend is tomorrow's foe. Mythical, biblical, religious, political, holocausts, ethnic cleansings – killing fields on lands that bear scars of violent histories.

"I have imagined a landscape of war into book form. The readiness to kill – car bombs go off, guns pointed, and missiles poised…THE POPULATION AT RISK.

"'We had long heard tell of whole worlds that had vanished, of empires sunk without a trace, gone down with all their machines into the unexplorable depths of centuries….but the disasters that had sent them down were, after all, none of our affair. …[W]e see now that the abyss of history is deep enough to hold us all.' (Paul Valery, The Crisis of the Mind)"
$4,500

Just Dessert
By Sandra Jackman
New York: Sandra Jackman, 2003. One-of-a-kind.

20 x 7 x 5" sculptural book. Mixed media. College. Found objects. Signed and dated by the artist.

Gluttony wears many disguises, especially in a land proud of overindulgence, but even the cleverest cloak rarely hides a sense of being out of control. This sculptural work embodies that feeling of being on the edge. Despite its humor and it's superficial cuteness, there is a sense of the precipice transgressed. Prayers are cut off from those who pray, wooden flaps open to little effect, paper insects light on a crucifix-face marked "eat and you could win," giant cones balance perilously on a ledge. The momentum is everywhere down - and not along a smooth slope. If you mounted this on a wall, you'd want to replumb the room.

Sandra Jackman: "Book spreads in width to accommodate this tale of the sweet tooth and its guilty pleasures.

"According to visual sightings and media reportage, current populations are gaining weight rapidly. Look carefully. Tempted by the ice cream cone, a glutton is drowning in the rich dessert."
$3,500