I designed this book in 2001 while working at Bruce Mau Design in direct communication with the artist Ellen Gallagher. The blind debossed book title on the cover was done after the book had been bound and laminated, it echos the tactile quality of the artwork, a detail of one of the artist’s works where she manipulated beauty ads from Ebony magazine. The book included documentation of the installation which was photographed just prior to printing/publication.
The main sculptural work, a complex grid-like construction inspired in part by playground climbers was exhibited in a room with varnished wooden floors making it next to impossible to photograph effectively. I art directed the photoshoot remotely asking the photographer, Cameron Campbell, to use backdrop paper to cover the floor completely. I remember he was initially skeptical but he did an amazing job creating a cyclorama effect which dissolved the hard edge of wall meeting floor. Only minor retouching work was needed around the edges of the capture.
Details of the same sculpture were high resolution video stills by Edgar Cleijne, the dark blackground was a nice contrast to the installation shots and emphasized the artist’s elaborate enamel-painted rubber appliqué work on wood.