undone
by: angela corpuz
star book created with paper cutouts, cyanotypes, and sewn binding
“Erin’s music is deeply personal. Listening to her songs is like reading entries from her diary, so for “Undone” I created an artist book.The book is meant to be handled and experienced personally, like the song. My interpretation is a carousel book, also known as a star book, created with paper cutouts, cyanotypes, and sewn binding.
The carousel represents the feeling of one's thoughts spinning around them in circles. “Undone” conjures the desire to end a long cycle of spiraling and get off the carousel. The star is the person’s wish to do so and grants them the permission to “stop unreeling”.
The cutouts on the first layer of the book represent the pain caused by the other person mentioned in the song. They might be well-intending, but they're still hurtful. The pain grows and the cuts take up more and more of each page. When you look through the cuts, you can see cyanotypes underneath. Cyanotypes are prints made by light reacting with chemicals on photosensitive paper. These prints are made when they literally see the light, like the person in the song “seeing the light” and self actualizing. The cyanotypes embody the person’s art and are made from the papercuttings from the cutouts. Their pain has become the source and subject of their art. As one turns through the book, the cyanotypes follow a gradient from dark to light. They become brighter as the person’s resolve becomes stronger.
The inner stitches connecting the cyanotypes reference the person’s seams that were pulled apart. In the end they resolve to pull themselves together and put their art first. These stitches are tightly woven and reinforced with a sewing machine.
The outer stitches of the pages are hand-sewn with a Japanese stab binding technique. This technique is very delicate like the song but is created by puncturing through the materials. Each stitch symbolizes the person’s awareness that pressing forward and writing this song may hurt the other person (“I’ll be the bad guy”) but that it may be a necessary consequence for them to be true to themselves.
Lastly, the covers of the book are wrapped in a natural white mulberry paper that has a texture similar to canvas which represents the blank canvas that the person has to create their artwork. “
About the artist:
Angela Corpuz is an artist and art educator based in Charlottesville, VA. She earned her BFA while studying Graphic Design at Old University and graduated with an MAE with teaching licensure from VCUarts. She currently teaches Pre-K to 4th grade and runs an after school art program for students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds at Greenbrier Elementary. As an artist, her work explores themes of progression and self-reflection and finds inspiration in the way that our experiences shape our identities.
Being away from my students has been harder than I could have ever imagined. I am very grateful to stay in touch with them online, but the energy is different than when we’re together. It’s really challenging to give them my best and to ensure their access to a quality art program while we are apart. I am looking forward to being back with my students, whenever that may be. In lieu of monetary donations, I ask you to consider donating art materials to my school’s art program.
View the Greenbrier Elementary Art Amazon Wish List here.