Ed Hutchins~ New York

William J. Dane, Book Dynamics!: "Ed Hutchins lives in … New York, where he is the creative force behind Editions, a studio for producing unique artist books. The books are frequently of small format with the most surprising visual effects and witty text. Ed has been an influential teacher and advisor for a great number of new enthusiasts for the artists' book movement. He spent some time … in Mexico working with creative book and paper artists to produce marvels of inventive book production."

Star Gazer
By Ed Hutchins
Salem, New York: Ed Hutchins, 2022. Edition of 96.

5.325 H x 3.75" W; 16 pages. Colophon on back cover interior; signed and numbered by the artist. Digitally printed on 14 pt. coated cardstock. Hand-cut. Assembled at the Editions Studio at Salem, New York. Two-color laser-cut portfolio. Custom storage box of black cardboard with title on spine and lid. Lid folds into slit and slot closure. Box interior with inset to hold the book. Book laid in a phase box: made of two pieces of lightweight stiff paper (one blue, one gold); slip and slot closure; circular cutout revealing illustration with title. Interlocking tab binding. Pop-ups.

Ed Hutchins: ""Star Gazer’, 2022 is a celestial journey through an endless universe to discover how to make sense of the future. ‘Star Gazer’ transforms into the infinite expanse of the universe against an inky backdrop, a sweeping constellation of colorful hand-cut paper stars sweeps through the book page-to-page, diving through pages, around pages, splitting into divided channels, crisscrossing top and bottom, popping off the page surface, floating above the page, and finally converging in an explosion of celestial starburst and a final question: in charting a life, are the answers upward or inward?”

Colophon: "Conceived and scripted on the road with Steve Warren during our great 2000 Mexican adventure. Reimagined and fleshed out during our February 2022 Atlanta Sojourn. Alisa Golden planted the seed for the interlocking-tab binding. Produced, polished, and published at Hawked, Salem, New York, May 2022.”
$465

Cacophony
By Ed Hutchins
Salem, New York: Ed Hutchins, 2021. Edition of 200.

10” high x 8” wide, opens to 15” long; Five interwoven pages fold flat. Non-adhesive pop-up structure. Laser printed in full color on 12pt. Accent Opaque White Cover Smooth paper. Laser-cut and hand-assembled. Custom Fabriano Morillo portfolio & information card. Vector diagram and laser cutting by Joe Freedman. Structure design and artwork by Ed Hutchins. Signed and numbered by Hutchins.

Ed Hutchins: "Sounds are unseen, they can be heard but not viewed. Five interwoven pages fold flat, yet spring open to a visual uproar of sounds…sounds from nature, wild beasts, machines, weather, music, excitement, frustration, and life itself. Racing across intersecting surfaces and erupting from interior chambers—whether seen from the top, bottom, front, back, sides, or through viewing ports—a wide-ranging cacophony of sound expressions emerges in visual form. The kaleidoscope presentation begs to be picked up, unfolded, turned, twisted, tumbled, and contorted in every way to explore the many nooks, crannies, and hidden crevices. Each perspective presents additional words, resulting in a cacophony of imaginative sounds.

"The non-adhesive flat structure bursts into a colorful explosive wonderland where it is possible to see the unseen."

“Creating Cacophony”, a movie about “Cacophony” narrated by the artist

Ed Hutchins: “Follow along as this innovative book emerges from idea to three-dimensions of boisterous revelry. In just nine zip-along minutes all the essential elements of good bookmaking are covered: book floorplans, the Michelangelo approach, book sculpting, vector diagrams, bump scores, Tucson AZ, canine assistants, word wrangling, paper choreography, and the all-important WOW factor.

“I provided the book concept and nimble fingers, Steven Warren worked behind the camera, and Jane Clegg of Q and A Productions took all the materials and clipped, snipped, stitched, manufactured, molded, shaped, edited, and polished the film into a cinematic gem.”
$320

Chromo Stew
By Edward H. Hutchins
[Chatham, New York]: Editions, 2009. Edition unstated.

7 x 7 cm; 32 loose panels. In folding paper case with slip and slot closure. Signed by the artist on the interior of the cover.

Panels mix, combine, connect, and simmer into a sizzling, sweeping swirl of hues.

Instructions for two methods of playing "Chromo Stew".

The Game Version can be played with more than one person. "Pick one of the color lines, turn the cards over, and then take turns revealing a new card. How many turns before your color disconnects?"

Individual play "Lay out the cards in any order - keeping the pink section above he yellow section. Then, mix up the cards and deal yourself a new batch of ‘Chromo Stew’.”
$40

Star Book
By Ed Hutchins
Mt. Vernon, New York: Ed Hutchins, 2005. Edition of 32.

2.75 x 2.75"; 8 unfolding double-page spreads. Gocco printed on Environment Parchment with stickers, sequins, brass charms, buttons, brads, glow-in-the-dark stick-ons, lenticular panels, foamy shapes, puffed fabric, and stamped images added. Housed in clam-shell box. Numbered and signed by the artist.

Ed Hutchins: "Unfolding petal pages create a celestial pathway for a test describing a stellar friendship. "

In the constellation
of personal connections
that surround and support me,
your kindness and boundless humor
shatters the mundane
and brightens my universe.

Ed Hutchins, “Book Dynamics “: “The planning started in 1992, … but the concept never fell into place, and at one point, mice got in and nibbled away at the text paper that had already been cut and scored. As originally designed, there was a fat spine and a much thinner foredge. This never appealed to me, but after collecting unusual star shapes (stickers, sequins, brass charms, buttons, handcut and commercial stamps, brads, puffed fabric, punches, lenticular panels, foamy shapes, and even some pieces that glowed in the dark!) over the following decade, enough items emerged that the finished foredge is just as thick as the spine. The book evolved into eight unfolding double-page spreads that describe a stellar friendship. New pages were cut, scored, printed, decorated, folded, and assembled to make the finished book. The last addition, on the final spread, was the floating star bridge. ‘Star Book’ is Gocco-printed on Environment Parchment. Enough of the non-mic-nibbled original Fabriano paper was salvaged to use for the covers and custom clamshell boxes.”
$950

Tied for Success
By Ed Hutchins
Mount Vernon, New York: Editions, 2001. Edition of 28.

19 x 6 cm; 18 leaves. Gocco printed in 14 colors with collage, stenciling, punching, rubber stamping, embossing, sponging, and thermography added. Spiral binding. Pages flip vertically. Issued in box (20 x 6 x 2 cm.). Box numbered. Book numbered and signed.

“Tied for Success”, Box blurb : "This rack of ties masquerading as book was created by Edward H. Hutchins for a book exchange organized by Roberta Lavadour. The rag paper for the text pages was donated by Carolyn Chadwick. Miriam Schaer provided the confetti paper. Alberto Valenzuela created the handmade paper, and Gérard Charrière contributed the velour paper. ... The publisher subscribes to the Calixto protocols and no actual ties were harmed in the production of this book. Don't forget to lift the tie on the last page."

A fun book by Ed Hutchins featuring illustrations of ties with a thoughtful message behind this mini-catalog of neckwear.

Book text: "How cunning / this striking /strip of fabric / designed to / shackle my / individuality / to corporate / conformity / Should I / tell them? / ... [hidden message]"
$240

Whatta Pie
By Ed Hutchins
Mount Vernon, New York: Editions, 2001. Edition of 25.

Wedge book housed in custom 6.5 x 5.75 x 3.25" cloth covered clamshell box. Paper title on lid of box. Book in clear plastic pie wedge container. Leaves sit in pie shell wedge. Pie shell wedge contains 11 unbound leaves decorated on both sides with illustrations and texts. Other embellishments Include a pop-up chicken, a moving dial, candy sprinkles. Topped with meringue wedge of Styrofoam with paper title on top. Shell signed and numbered by the artist.

Ed Hutchins: "’Whatta Pie’ is a collection of rumors, quotes and legends about pies. The information is collected on wedge-shaped pages that fit on a papier-mâché crust and housed in a plastic take-out container. These particular copies with their own custom clamshell box. It's an interesting book that included most of the techniques that I was using at the time: Papier-mâché casting, Gocco printing, rubber stamping, stenciling, thermography, collage, pop-ups, volvelles, unusual folds, and unexpected materials.”

Ed Hutchins, Book Dynamics: “I collected twelve pie-related legends, rumors, and quotes and presented them in a pie-shaped book. The text starts on the inside cover to explain the expression ‘upper crust.’ Other pages comment on Mom and Apple Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Pie in the Sky, Pizza Pie, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, and even Math Pi and Printer’s Pi. ‘Whatta Pie’ captured everything I was doing at the time: stamping, multi-color Gocco-printing, overlays, built-up images, movable parts, and applied decorations. There is a page that fans out, and others that fold out, unfold, rotate, or flip over. There is a reluctant chicken that springs off the page, a skeleton sampling a piece of Funeral Pie, and even candy sprinkles from the containers used for a previous book. At the time, I was volunteering for Meals on Wheels, and the takeout pie containers came from the company that supplied our kitchen.”
$1,200 (Last Copy)

El Taco de Ojo (Easy on the Eye)
By Ed Hutchins
Mount Vernon, New York: Ed Hutchins, 2000. Edition of 48.

3.75 x 6" custom crafted box with opaque window to view taco book. Seven shaped pages of “colorful foamy material” inserted into taco shaped shell. Silk-screened text panels on each side of page. Text in Spanish with English translation on reverse page. Box numbered. Signed and numbered by the artist on the paper taco shell.

Seven filling-shaped pages stuff a taco shaped shell. The ingredient pages are silk-screened with sayings about food, hunger, and desire.
"Un taco sin salsa es como un beso sin bigote."
"A Taco without salsa is like a kiss without a moustache."

Ed Hutchins, colophon: "In July 2000 Steve Warren and I set out on a year-long visit to Mexico. Our first stop was Cuernavaca. Antonio Ortega, once he learned of my interest in unusual books, presented me with the tortilla paper and asked, "Can you do anything with this?" The taco shells were assembled after Steve and I moved to Guanajuato. The colorful foamy material came from a side trip to León, the text came from Steve's cooking class with Luis Marhuani at the Falcon Institute, and the printing was done at OK! Taller de Serigrafía. Several months later we ended up in Oaxaca where Miarima Schaer photographed the blank books and Maris Spelman rough-cut the box sheets. Final assembly and box construction took place at the Editions Studio in Mount Vernon, New York with much help from Elsie Sampson....Happy feasting!"
$320

Words for the World
By Edward H. Hutchins
Cairo, New York: Ed Hutchins, 1995. Edition of 250.

3 x 6" tin pencil box illustrated with a map of the world. Contains 15 sharpened pencils. Printed folded paper lays in box with acknowledgements and text translations. Signed by the artist.

Ed Hutchins, Book Dynamics: "The United Nations designated 1995 as the Year for Tolerance. 'Words for the World, a collection of thoughts to promote cooperation and understanding, is my contribution to that effort. Supportive messages in English and other languages are commercially silk-screened on sharpened pencils to encourage the writing of new messages. The text is in English on one side of each pencil and in another language on the reverse side. The languages used include Afrikaans, Arabic, Berber, Chinese, Ethiopian, Esperanto, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Malay, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Zulu. I wrote the text and located translators through the Book Arts List and the Mid-Hudson Library System Bulleting. The set includes 15 imprinted pencils, a brochure listing the expressions and translations, and a printed tin box to hold everything. Will we ever learn how to wage peace and tolerance as effectively as we wage war?"
$180

Cooperation / Conflagration
By Edward H. Hutchins
[Mount Vernon, New York]: [Editions], [1992]. Open edition.

4.5 x 4”; 16 pages. Flutter book structure. End sheets tipped between heavy bright blue cardstock paper with black lettering. Single photocopied sheet of text and pictures used for the inside pages. Wrap-around cover. Includes copy of “Which Way?” Signed by the artist.

Ed Hutchins: “Eight steps turn cooperation into conflagration. But at any point, the book can be rotated 180 degrees and the process reversed.

"’Cooperation/Conflagration’ is one of my most important, and perhaps, most insightful books. I love it! Just eight words, all starting with the letter ‘c’, trace the path from cooperation to conflagration. By rotating the book 180-degrees, there are eight new steps from conflagration back to cooperation. The really amazing aspect of this book is that anywhere in the process, the book can be rotated and the possible outcome changed. For example, even when you arrive at ‘collision’, it is possible to turn the book to ‘concession’ and reverse the destructive possibility. On the other hand, when you get to ‘compromise’, the book can be rotated to ‘complication’ and the peace process falls apart.

“A similar book, ‘Which Way?’ was created on the brink of war in Iraq. It pairs words that start with ‘r’ to create two alternate possibilities. My favorite pair--the last tiny match--is ‘regret/rejoice’. Which way did we choose?

“The point of both books is that decisions have consequences. There is a need to gauge outcomes before acting.”
$120