Book Concept

The book that I’m making is basically a journal on my experience with music/audio equipment. The first couple of pages will be dedicated to my background and why this topic matters to me. I will then break down the aspects on how I achieved adequate sound quality in my own person setup. 3-4 different sections will be primarily dedicated to:

1)Intro

-Basically a short write-up that describes my experience with music/audio equipment.

2) Source

-Analog/Digital

-Vinyl/Cassette/CD

3) Amplification

-Tube/Solid State

4) Headphones

5) Conclusion

I don’t want this book to be a super in depth how-to guide on audio, but rather a showcase on the equipment I’ve used with tidbits of useful information. The pieces of audio equipment presented in the book are very aesthetically pleasing in my opinion, so I will definitely have pages that are primarily there to highlight the beauty of some of the gear that I’ve used.

As far as the technical aspects of the book goes, I think a 7×7 book will suit my style best because I like to work in square formats. Not only that, a traditional 8.5×11 format immediately gives a more commercial feeling that I want to avoid. I’ll be able to craft the words/images in a square format more artistically this way, so hopefully I can make it a little more personal.

I’ve already begun to design the book cover, now I’m just trying to figure out how to format the pages of the book. I don’t want the book to be a linear experience that requires the reader to start at the very beginning. I want each page to be self contained with information and have it’s own aesthetic that will be enjoyable to look at. Basically you can flip to any page you want without feeling lost. I’m still debating if I’ll even need page numbers or a table of contents with the book because I’m hoping that the reader will be able to figure out which sections their on based on the pictures that are being shown. Also, the book is only 40 pages so it shouldn’t be that confusing. Information heavy pages will be towards the beginning of each section, so if someone is looking at a page that is showcasing an amplifier then all they have to do is flip backwards a couple of times to get to learn more about it. I’m hoping that the book will be structured logically enough that page numbers won’t be needed.

Rough timeline as of 2/11/2015

-Collect images and continue to work on cover art.

-Work on the first couple of pages to really establish some kind of structure for the rest of the book.

-Continue work on the book, hopefully have finished the first section of the book.

-TBA

Jenny Holzer

Julia Holzer is someone who doesn’t really have  a defined skill set as an artist, or at least in a traditional sense. She doesn’t know how to paint or draw, and she’s admitted that she’s not exactly a talented writer. That said, what she is good at is pairing words with various backgrounds to create a poignant message. She writes with an uncompromising bluntness that some may find offensive, but I think that’s what she was going for. She wants to get people to think, and she writes from a somewhat undefined perspective to cater to multiple sides of a situation. She usually projects her work on various landmarks to add weight to her messages, and organizes them in ways to add aesthetic value. I’m not exactly sure if I would consider her an artist, she’s more of a political activist in my opinion. Either way, her work is certainly intriguing.

Journal Update #1

1000 Journals

The start of the film has an interesting analysis that basically explains that kindergarten/elementary students have a higher ratio of people who considered themselves “artists” than seniors in high school.  There’s probably a myriad of reasons on why this occurs but my personal take on it is that children have less inhibitions on personal expression than adults. Also, the weight of the word “artist” is less exaggerated and defined when one is younger, so, if anyone can write or doodle then that makes them an artist. The idea about passing 1000 journals across the world is a beautiful concept because it allows a variety of people from all walks of life to express themselves anonymously through a tangible medium, in my opinion, physical pieces of art are much stronger than what’s possible through the internet. Even though the entries from a single person may be insignificant and probably not even aesthetically pleasing, the combination of words/pictures from multiple people creates a very profound artistic statement which I think is brilliant.