Stefan Gunnesch
- (book artist) Charles Baudelaire
- (text by) Therese Robinson
- (translated by) William Aggeler
- (translated by) Alois Pokorny
- (illustrated by)
Pages: unpaged Size: 320mm Binding: Flip-top box (folding from all four sides) Language: English; French; German Inscription: Signed by the artist Edition: #16/18
Theme(s): Botanical; Poetry
Place publication: Leipzig Publisher: Edition Bildschriftlich
Additional notes: Even though the "Les Fleurs du Mal / Flowers of Evil", the book's title is to be understood metaphorically, in the artistic concept they are juxtaposed with plant engravings taken from "Pokorny's Naturgeschichte des Pflanzenreiches für höhere Lehranstalten" (1894).
The printed plant engravings are coloured by hand with pigments from plant fibres.
Between the text pages there are four illustrated chapters in individual booklets, stapled to the book's leporello. In the collages shown therein, each plant is associatively assigned to one of the eight guiding concepts (i.e. two per booklet) and titled on the back of the open leporello. In the centre of each booklet, a text collage is printed that innovatively juxtaposes phrases from Baudelaire's original text and connects both plants/terms.
The book can be 'stretched' on its leporello form, so that the text "To the Reader" becomes visible as an adjoining, unbroken text both from the front and back covers.
Thread stitching on fanfold, layered cardboard cover with cut-outs giclée print, digital print, eight hand-coloured plant illustrations.