 We Float Like Dust By Erin Malkowski Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Erin Malkowski, 2013. Edition of 90. 5.75 x 8.5"; 16 pages including self-wrapper. Background images are scanned toner washes. Printed on Smart White by French Paper Company. Offset printed using the two typefaces Apollo MT Std & Klinic Slab. Printed by Amanda D'Amico on a Heidelberg KORS offset press at the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Numbered. Erin Malkowski: "In the offset book We Float Like Dust, I explore how earth’s physical placement within the cosmos has changed throughout time through envisioning the various historic models of the universe. Each solar system was designed according to popular perceptions of the universe at that time. For centuries, our field of vision could not extend beyond what was visible to the eye and as a result, we were the center of a narrowly known universe. When astronomer Copernicus made drastic discoveries about the rotations of the sun, earth, and our surrounding neighbors, perceptions about the center were shattered and earth was no longer significant. As we continue to make advancements in space exploration, we learn we are merely a speck of dust, suspended amongst innumerable specks." Susan Viguers, book artist: "In the context of a quotation by Carl Sagen about the immensity of the universe and our tiny planet, [Erin] presents visually the changing concepts of the earth's relationship to the universe—the pre-Socratic, Ptolemaic, Copernican, etc. to the 20th century's vision of the Expanding Universe and finally the Relativistic Universe. I find it a beautiful and resonating book." Amanda D’Amico, MFA Book Arts/ Printmaking Program University of the Arts: "Erin Malkowski is an explorer, but turns her sights towards the sky rather than the earth. Inspired by Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Star Trek and the very big Midwestern sky she grew up under, Erin's work sought to lessen the distance between 'out there' and 'down here.' She pushed the idea that not only are we simply floating like specks of dust in the vast cosmos , but also that entire universes exist within ourselves, inside of our bodies. We are carbon and hydrogen and made of the same stuff as planets and galaxies, and what exists out in the vast cosmos Erin wanted to be able to hold in her hands. Moving beyond visual and literal interpretations of these ideas, Erin pushed her exploration of materials, adopting a palette of dyes made from traditional Ukrainian recipes of red cabbage juice and sauerkraut, and creating her own 'big bangs' with baking soda and vinegar, bringing the creation of the universe into her kitchen." |