Jack Ginsberg Centre for the Book Arts

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Ein verdunkeltes Boot
Ein mørklagd båt [A darkened boat]

Item date(s): October 2019

Veronika Schäpers - (book artist)
Jon Fosse - (poems by)

Size: 286mm
Language: German; Swedish
Inscription: Signed by the artist
Edition: #2/33

Place publication: Karlsruhe und Münster
Publisher: Artists Book
Exhibition 2022

Additional notes:
In his poem 'A Darkened Boat' Fosse describes the existential experience of being carried and protected by this boat; it is almost a religious experience, blurring the boundaries between dream and reality. Fosse contrasts opposing elements: light and dark, heaven and earth, presence and absence, all coming together in the unifying element of the boat. Like Noah’s ark, it draws everything into its protective embrace. The image of the darkened boat as a protective vessel gave me the idea of working with illustrations of head coverings. Each of the 31 drawings in this book represents a head covering worn in a religious or spiritual context; they come from various faiths around the world. Thanks to the straight-line drawings and partial rotation, the protective hats are also reminiscent of vessels, entering into a dialogue with Fosse’s 'darkened boat.'

Reference note:
33 arabisch nummeriete Exemplare; 10 romisch nummerierte Exemplare; 4 Belegexemplare.

The book is housed in a Japanese Paulownia-tree (balsa-wood-like) box with the title in both languages on the lid.

The colophon poem are in both German and Swedish, the former at the front of the book and the latter at the back while the illustrations in of various types of headgear (hats) are in the centre, all held together with a transparent mylar clasp.

Paper sample 72Fr

Exhibition notes:
Creative Research: The Artists’ Books of Veronika Schäpers, Robbin Ami Silverberg and Julie Chen JBCBA, WAM

22 September to 15 December 2022

Ref: GB/16449