JD'A – 6: The Ondt & the Gracehoper - 1975

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THE ONDT AND THE GRACE-HOPER by | JAMES JOYCE | GRAPHICS By D’AMBROSIO.

10 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, [i–iii]: images with words of title, [iv]: author and graphics by with copyright on verso, 1: image, 2–5: text, 6: image, 7–12: text, 13: image, 14–15: text, 16: image, 17: image with tex, 18–20: text, [21]: colophon, [22]: logo of the compulsive printer.

One-piece hard case of dark green ultra-sued, lined with cram. Pinwale corduroy. Front cover with relief image covered with 23K gold leaf.

Note: All pages are unbound and placed in case.

Images: 5 blockprints and 2 serigraphs, all numbered and signed with ‘75.

[I]: The Ont

[ii]: And

[iii]: The Gracehoper

1: The Ont and the Gracehoper [woodblock with green and black leaves]

6: pupa-pupa

13: The Ont and the Gracehoper [woodblock with 4 onts on leaves]

16: The Ont and the Gracehoper [ornamental T with red text]

From Nineteen Years and Counting:

[image of book]

The Ondt & the Gracehoper

1975

The Ondt & the Gracehoper, from

Two Tales of Shem and Shaun, by James Joyce

Edition: 50 numbered copies, and 5 artist proofs

Size: 8-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches

Type: 18 pt. Bulmer

Leaves: 26 - Rives BFK paper

Binding: Dark green Ultrasuede over boards framing a 23k gilded relief-serigraph; pinwale corduroy sides and lining

Mr. Mundell and I worked together in harmonious conflict. I explained my design plan to him and he set the type, but he would not print without my presence-we printed together in Portage, Indiana, under his direction. I printed the graphics in Chicago. If we disagreed, we always reached an amicable solution without raising our voices. A repeated conflict was over his breaking a word other than at its normal syllable break at the end of a line. He exclaimed, "Time Magazine does it. Why can't we?" I believe he won in some of those instances. He was a lovably feisty Hoosier, and I miss him. & In my efforts to transform the book into an art object, I created a binding which would induce an owner to question its hiding in a bookcase. The book appears to be a bound book, but is really a case and the pages are loose within it. The cover relief-serigraph was produced with 26 layers of silkscreen ink, and then gilded with 23K gold leaf. The last coat of ink is red and lies just below the top layer of gold. Who can resist running their fingers over raised gold leaf, particularly on an object that one holds in one's hands? As the gold wears away, a red patina will slowly emerge allowing this edition of The Ondt and the Gracehoper to age gracefully. This device is from the Italian gilder's craft of gold leaf over red clay.

[image of page from book]

A serigraphed page from The Ondt & the Gracehoper.

From A Memoir of Book Design:

In my efforts to transform the book into an art object and still somewhat displeased with the quality of my bindings), I wanted to create a structure that would make an owner think twice about hiding it in a bookcase. The answer was to create a decorative box that looks like a book. It could be stored in a bookcase or it could be

displayed. The box would hold the loose pages of the story within it. I did not know it at the time, but the serendipity of my faults in this James Joyce work [Taken from Two Tales of Shem and Shaun, a work in progress, which later became integrated into Finnegans Wake.] was laying the groundwork for what later would become a book-in-a-box format.

At this time I was supplementing my income by working for and with a fine art framer and paper restorer with a background from The Art Institute of Chicago. He had recently left the museum to open the very first archival frame shop in Chicago on Hubbard Street: The Frame Shop. Gordon Heuter taught me almost everything I know about paper. He also taught me that the grain of old Italian wooden frames was first sealed with red clay to ensure a smooth and shiny finish when the gold leaf was laid on. Then as years passed and the gold wore off, there appear slight areas of red that nicely complement the gold. I used this knowledge when creating the image of the Ondt (ant) and the Gracehoper (Grasshopper) on the front cover of the boxlike book. The image is raised by applying twenty-six separate coats of silkscreen ink on various parts of an archival four-ply paperboard so as to build up those areas to reveal the visual communication. The last coat of ink is red. Then gold leaf is laid over the red ink. Since this is a book someone will hold in their hands, and the image is raised, I can readily understand that roving fingertips will want to brush across the surface, and in so doing slowly wear away the gold until small areas of red begin to appear. I guess one could call this planned enhancement. The image is framed beneath an opening of dark green UltraSuede (imitation suede), on the front and rear cover, with a serigraphed title on the spine, and with white corduroy used on the top, bottom, and fore edge of the uprights which make up the sides of the box. The wale of the corduroy gives the effect of the edges of paper pages and the impression that this is a genuine bound book. The illusion is not meant to be perfect (and it certainly isn't), for it is not what it presumes to be. And you may have already realized that I do not like to misrepresent, but rather to hint at an origin that allows a reader a firm basis upon which to base a judgment. The corduroy is also used to line the interior of the box.

The unbound pages open with a series of three linoleum block graphics printed in solid black on white paper (Rives BFK) and state the title, The Ondt and the Gracehoper. The Ondt is portrayed as his smug self, righteously posturing next to a potted palm that sits over the letter Ts crosspiece. The word "and" is next and reflects my interest in Art Nouveau, which here leans towards its descendant, Art Deco (Joyce's era). The dominant shape is that of an artichoke, which will be used as the upper case headings for each of the sections of the story. On this page, however, it shows that it has its roots literally within the word, "and." One may also notice the bulbous object oozing from the top of the artichoke. Sexual innuendo is rampant in Joyce's work, and is herewith reflected by the suggestion of ejaculated sperm atop the artichoke. The third print is the Gracehoper, who is depicted in blatant coarseness with his legs spread apart and his genitalia hanging loosely and unexcitedly between his legs. Thus the characters are introduced to the reader before the tale begins. It should be obvious by the attitudes presented in the rendering of the main characters that this is a

morality tale being told totally without morals.

The following page is for credits, and of course James Joyce is dominant as the author. The convenience of unbound pages is that they can be removed and strung out in an unbroken series, to give the reader an opportunity to view a series of images all at once. Or, one can simply turn the pages. The option is up to the reader. And many will change this option when going through the piece more than once, which makes the experience different each time. The negative aspect is that a page will tend to be mislaid or stolen and possibly lost forever. Another option could have been to adhere the edges of the pages together in an accordion fashion. However, that kind of structure would imply a confining attitude. The free flowing sense of abandonment would have been lost from the essence of the story. An artist must always make choices based on what is best for the material, as opposed to what is structurally best for the medium. Ideally, a final decision should be one that favors both equally. However, if the compromise cannot be justified, the artistic must prevail when it comes to artists books.

The next page is another graphic which highlights the artichoke theme. This begins page number one. It was necessary to number the pages so that if they became shuffled, one would know their original order. The artichoke motif with its visible overlaying of leaves is used symbolically to highlight Joyce's unpeeling of the subject's many subtle layers in order to reveal the characters' hypocrisies.

The story begins with an upper case "T." The artichoke protrudes from the top of the letter in partial silkscreen gold and dark green ink. Mr. Mundell set the type by hand and we printed it together on weekends in his garage studio in Indiana. I showed him where to place the printed type so that I could later fit in the visuals. I produced the silkscreen and linoleum block images and the binding on Alta Vista Terrace in Chicago, where I was living at that time with my lifetime companion, Gary Moerke.

The story continues without adornment until the reader reaches a somewhat pornographic black and white linoleum block print titled "Pupa-pupa," in which the Gracehoper character is reinforced as the epitome of debauchery. He is having sexual intercourse with a female insect, while on a nearby table a wine bottle rests on its side with two obviously used wineglasses.

The next section begins with an upper case artichoke letter

"G," and continues once again unadorned until it ends with a black and white linoleum block print. This time it is the character of the Ondt which is under scrutiny. He is depicted in a much more genteel fashion, and yet surrounded by three female insects in a questionable sexual arrangement. This shows that the Ondt is more discerning about displaying his vices than the Gracehoper, but yet indeed has them.

The next section begins with another upper case letter "T," only this time the artichoke design has completely enveloped the letter. The continuation of a design element that expands and refines itself as the reader gets deeper and deeper into the material is not unlike the reader's expansion of knowledge as the amount of information ingested becomes greater. This section continues unadorned for only another page until one reaches an ornate serigraph marking a shift by the author from prose to poetry. The letters are in bright red, beginning with a large upper case "T" upon which the Ondt is crucified (the lowly Gracehoper, because he could not care less, has survived). All of the letters were cut out of lacquer film by hand. The sentence increases from narrow type to a bold faced style ending in a comma, so that the reader must continue on to the following page, which has the poetry printed in italics. The use of italics is simply what they are originally intended for-stress. Framing the text on these pages is an Art Nouveau/Art Deco design that slowly dissipates as one reaches the end of the book until it is no more than what is known as a "dingbat" or type ornament on the final page. This is the exact opposite of expanding design elements with growing material comprehension —a gradual descent to the end of the book.เ=

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