My Artist's Book, IN COMUNE, Dedicated to Padua's City Hall

You may have already read about and looked at my artist's book to be experienced on a gondola in Venice, Gondola Ride Kit, but there's another edition I've dedicated to Padua: IN COMUNE.

Description:

The site-specific artist's book focuses on some points in Palazzo Moroni (Padua's City Hall) and invites visitors to perceive each place differently. The artist's three card stock pages encourage visitors to avoid a hurried or careless passing, and instead experience some of the Palazzo's places, focusing on them to discover their purpose, identiy a new meaning or simply learn something about a typical routine there. The passing-by can therefore be a moment of reflection or a pause - a time which is given a new quality. The benches or windows in the Palazzo can offer both visitors - and resident workers - a different point of view to observe the space they are experiencing.

 Front cover

The book instructs the reader to go to specific locations, illustrated by the pencil drawings, and read the corresponding written material on the back side of each card. The themes range from humorous, to romantic and historical.

 First page, drawing and text on back

 Second page, drawing and text on back

Third page, drawing and text on back

The work was commissioned for the exhibition, Gemine Muse, in 2007. Curated by Guido Bartorelli and Teresa Iannotta. Bilingual edition of 1000 copies.

Back cover

IN COMUNE is on sale on ETSY. Click here to get your copy.  Not many copies are left!

Gondola Ride Kit: Instructions for a Heightened Experience

I'd like to introduce you to my little-but-powerful artist's book called Gondola Ride Kit: Instructions for a Heightened Experience. It's an ironic guide for living one of Venice's quintessential experiences: the gondola ride. There's a map, instructions and a trouble shooting guide at the end as I take you through the lagoon city in a whole new way. To start, I recommend the experience during the winter months of November to February, not your typical touristic season in the lagoon city.

Some the sections are dedicated to the five senses. You must concentrate on each one as you ride along in the gondola.

Canal Grande, original illustration by artist

Route taken by artist and recommended departure site to find your gondolier. 

For those who have read Dante Alighieri's Inferno, there is Experience B with references to Virgil and Minos, among others.

It's a guide. It's a book. It's art.
Enjoy this fabulous and unique read! Get your own copy. Buy one for a friend for Christmas! It will make for  an amazing gift for anyone leaving for Venice this winter. It can also be considered a special memento or just lets you dream about Venice with a new point-of-view. Not to mention that this little book is part of major public collections like Tate Gallery. You'll have a piece of art that is the "stuff" of museums.

This is the first time I have directly written about a piece of my art on this blog. I feel it is the right time and very relevant to your interests in Italy and my neighboring city of Venice, where I used to live. This artist's book is on sale for a great small price via Internet now. For more information, please go to my ETSY shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/irenewoodburyworks

Thank you for supporting me as an artist and spreading the word about Gondola Ride Kit.

Let me know what you think once you've gone for your own ride with manual in-hand.