"The Bibliographic Art of Walter Feldman and the Ziggurat Press," on display at the Rock through Nov. 30, includes books, broadsides, one-of-a-kind publication-sculptures of texts from the Old Testament, and poems by Robert Frost, Michelangelo and Thomas Nash, as well as writings by Feldman himself.
Art professor Walter Feldman made his first book at the age of 8. "In the third grade I made a little book about Vikings. I wrote it, I illustrated it, and bound it," he recalls vividly some 65 years later. "My cousin had a typewriter where you dialed each letter and pressed it. I made the binding from an old window blind I found. When I handed it in, the teacher said, `Where did you copy that from?' She almost ruined me. I remember her name - Hiccock. That was a mean thing to do. It's my book and I invented it."
He's been inventing books ever since. More than books; these are works of art. Thirty items from his collection are now on display at the Rockefeller Library through Nov. 30. "The Bibliographic Art of Walter Feldman and the Ziggurat Press" includes books, broadsides, one-of-a-kind publication-sculptures of texts from the Old Testament, and poems by Robert Frost, Michelangelo and Thomas Nash, as well as writings by Feldman himself.
One of the most eye-catching items is "Song of Songs," a love poem in the Old Testament. The accordion-shaped piece is printed on Japanese paper made of a fibrous plant. Framing the text are collages of brightly colored paper in shapes of butterflies and some "fantastic creatures."
"This was my first experience in setting type," says Feldman. "It entails doing it backward and upside down and making sure you have the right separations between letters. You have to diddle with the little copper or brass shims to make it a little less or more space. It's the same procedure Gutenberg used."
Feldman printed "Song of Songs" on his own press, which he has subsequently given to the University. But it remains in his home in Providence until space is made on campus for it. "It's a Vandercook proving press, built in 1953," he says. That's the same year Feldman joined the Brown faculty after teaching art for three years at Yale University, his alma mater for both his undergraduate and graduate fine arts degrees.
He found the press in a garage. "A man was just storing it - it took three weeks to clean," he says with a chuckle. The press weighs about 1,400 pounds and can print a 22-by-30-inch sheet. A Feldman print used for the University's 1997-98 course announcement bulletin was printed on that press.
Feldman says he made "Song of Songs" in an accordion shape because he "wanted to have a book format that could be changed into different shapes. I wanted the idea of touching, of getting involved in the feeling of the book. This is a love poem."
He continues his love theme with the one-of-a-kind "I Love You" book. "I was playing with some of the possibilities of the press. I printed the letter `L' and said, `Oh my god, that's Love!' So I printed the word `Love.' And because my wife is a musician, I thought it should have an echo of sound, so that's why it's printed lighter and lighter - as an echo, a song."
Another labor of love is his memoir, "02837-1412," about his experiences as a young man building his summer house in Little Compton, R.I. That was the second book he wrote himself. "It's all about the thoughts that went through my head as I was building. I bought the land from [former Brown President] Barnaby Keeney, who helped me put in the electricity," says Feldman.
An ancient scroll motif is seen in "Kadish Scroll," which presents the prayer for the dead from Judaism. Feldman printed the prayer in Hebrew, then translated it and printed it in English. The colors, however, are vibrant violets, blues, reds and yellows - hardly the tones one thinks about in relation to death. "What I found so beautiful," says the artist, "is that the prayer never mentions death and it extols God. It's an uplifting idea rather than a dark and gloomy idea."
World War II plays a prominent role in Feldman's art and his life. He served for three years in the infantry, fought in four major battles in close combat, and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. "Living through all that made an impression I've never forgotten. If a person goes through traumatic experiences, they live with you the rest of your life." He created an alphabet book using locations from World War II battles and concentration camps for each letter. "It's all part of my experience, and being Jewish I have no relatives from that era who are still alive. They were all killed. The Holocaust is a continuing live thing for me."
Why an alphabet book? "A book dealer in Boston asked me if I ever did an alphabet book. I've done several of them since," he says. "Some are completely abstract, and none of them are for children."