Zine Review: emma stronach’s ‘book art’

We’ve asked 3000 BOOKS blogger and Story To… contributor Estelle Tang to join the team as our new zine reviewer. Here’s what she thought about Book Art:

There’s something about the unsullied propriety of a book that makes me feel both at ease and on edge. Clearly, effort and care go into the creation of a book in truckloads. But the more difficult or deified the contents, the more I wonder what it would be like to tear it up and shake it around. Emma Stronach’s Book Art zine is a gorgeous reminder of this feeling. Emma has taken the pages of her old music textbook and ripped them up, creating sixteen pages of collage and catastrophe that are sometimes delicate and sometimes irreverent. In this way, a book that used to convey information in one way has been transformed with browns, blues, greens, shellac, pen and glue into something totally different and delightful. Book Art comes in two sizes – A6 ($5) and A5 ($10). I have the little version, but the larger version is printed on cardstock and can be taken apart as individual artworks. Book Art is available here.