Fun Origami

This one counts as one of the oddest books we have ever acquired. It is almost difficult to call it a book any longer. Technically, Fun Origami (New York: Sally Agee, 1988) is an "altered book." The artist folded, cut and painted each page of a book she found then laid in bits of cut fabric, interesting papers and even a few snippets of instructions to guide the reader. The final book no longer really functions as a codex. It is very difficult to turn the pages, and it won't close. It has turned into an explosive collage of New York faces, conversations, and political and social statements of the late 1980s: "Nelson Mandela"; "Music on Voyager from the sun blew a bubble between the stars"; "Oh my, so cool, oh my."

Sally Agee earned a BFA from Syracuse University, then became a teacher. After extensive travel, and spending 15 years raising her family, she revived her art career by taking art classes. She says of her own work:

If I must describe it, I think I would say it was divided into textile design, book art, fabric art, and collage. But there is a lot of over lap and mixing, and that is the way I like it. I could never narrow down my interests.

To look through Agee's altered artwork, come to Rauner and ask for Presses A32agfu.