Word

Oakland: Crown Point Press, 1980. First edition. 5-3/4 in. x 6 in. Boards, fine. Five drypoints with aquatints and (in number 5) hand coloring. One of ten copies, signed at the colophon and initialed on each page. While the prints were executed in 1977, and dated as such, the book was not published until 1980. Pat Steir's quiet, early works - word/image prints inspired by the randomness of John Cage's musical compositions both in design and subtlety - challenged definitions of art, and particularly printmaking and drawing. Abstract marks, images, and words are scattered across the sheet with equal weight. Having written poetry before learning to paint, Steir considers drawing and writing as one and the same. Throughout the 1970s Steir narrowed her research to focus on art itself, making drawings and prints in her own version of Minimalism's geometric and serial formats, exploring the parameters of a mark with a drawn frame. The artist book Word is emblematic of this early period in Steir's career, with its focus on the study of details in language. She examines the differences between words and images, and presents isolated words and images within the regulated grids of her prints. Bound in original printed boards by Kevin Parker, it includes a custom made clamshell case.