artist books 2007 - present

These are some of my artist's books. Some are altered, others are made from scratch.

artist statement for "buru," top row, middle

This book is a tribute to Indonesian author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer (2/6/25 - 4/30/06). Pramoedya spent much of his productive writing years imprisoned for his "subversive" beliefs in the rights of the downtrodden. In 1965, Pramoedya was arrested and beaten to the point of losing most of his hearing. All of the books in his house were burned on the spot. He was sent to Buru Island for 14 years as a political prisoner. Pramoedya labored under harsh conditions, clearing the land, planting crops and constructing buildings. He was not allowed pen and paper for 8 of the 14 years he was imprisoned. Despite everything, he managed to create a four-volume novel called the Buru Quartet during his incarceration. Fearful that his story would never by published, he recited his tale to fellow prisoners every night. It was only towards the end of his incarceration that he was given a typewriter and paper to write his books. Pramoedya was one of the last prisoners freed from Buru in 1979, but he was held under house arrest in Jakarta until 1992. He passed away on April 30, 2006 at the age of 81.