My Background and These Projects
My Background and These Projects
Inspired by my own experiences, my books capture moments in women’s lives when issues of appearance, self esteem and assimilation become paramount due to physical restrictions placed on the body, either by fashion or by medical necessity.
I have always been interested in narrative storytelling through framed images. I have a background in both photography and film. As a photographer, I work to freeze a moment in a frame; as a filmmaker I sequenced those moments in a series of moving frames. Creating art through a form of bookmaking was a natural extension of these ideas for me and allowed me to draw further elements of my personal experience into the art process.
My interest in body image and women's shapes has come from my history of spinal
curvature (Scoliosis). During 1970's, from the ages of 13-18, I wore a brace 23 hours a day.
In 1984 I again found myself again in a corset/brace but this time for a herniated disk.
Throughout these years, I developed a sensitivity to "correction" and the need to fit in.
In the early Paper Books I used sheer materials to create visual and literal puns involving structure, both apparent and concealed. Gradually, I wanted the stories to become more 3-D,
to become part the fabric, in order for the textile to tell the stories. These projects became
the series of Corset Works and eventually, the Bed Work.
The Bed Works were created out of my interest in the history of housework. Because women have always been associated with the home, hearth and all the domestic duties that belong to them, this project was an extension of my fascination of women being confined and defined within certain societal walls – but this time, within what has been referred to in Victorian times as the “Guilded Cage” – their homes.
This work is a form of “Artist Books.” However, I feel that the definition of a book is really flexible. I believe it has to do with layers and pages in which a narrative unfolds with or without a traditional spine to support a physical book. In the case of the corset work, the pages in each piece are not connected by specific spine, although the idea of one is implied by the fact that the corset is used to support one’s own spine.
I realize that this type of unhurried art may not be so popular in this time of immediate digital gratification. However, for me, taking the time to slow down to untie all the ties, or unfold the covers on a bed in order to read all of the text, is part of the contemplation and therapy of the process; echoing what women have been experiencing throughout the centuries whether it be dressing or undressing, or doing housework.
Contacts
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me: tamarstone@pipeline.com
For sales you may contact me, as well as my dealer:
Vamp & Tramp Booksellers
homepage: http://www.vampandtramp.com
artwork page: http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/s/tamar-stone.html
email: mail@vampandtramp.com
Copyright 2020 by Tamar Stone. All Rights Reserved.
No images or text may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the artist.