Life's Lessons (2012)
Altered book assemblage
by
Frank Turek
On the interior front cover is a photo illustration of a couple of fisherman. The point of view of the picture is as seen from the back of the boat and down low. One of the fishermen is in the back of the boat in the process of catching a fish, which is leaping up out of the water directly in the foreground. The other fishermen, in the front of the boat and wearing a short-sleeved checked shirt, leans over toward the action. The surface of the pond is covered with lily pads. This picture is bordered with a geometric floral wallpaper pattern. Affixed to this picture in the center left is a narrow vertical, open-top box with an illustration of a vial of blood. Inside this box is an actual glass vial within which is an illustration of the Dancing Shiva, Nataraja. Sticking out of the top of the vial is a cylinder wrapped with a photo illustration of green peas.
The framed side of the altered book is sparse and notably contains no collage text. The central figure is a giraffe head and neck perched atop a cylinder wrapped in green cloth with a yellow-gold diagonal grid pattern. The central backdrop is of a green flowing bush of orange chrysanthemums. On the side panels of this central area is a black-and-white photo of the classic Frankenstein monster from the Universal Studio film. The central area is divided off above and below by two shelves of blue tinted glass. The backgrounds in these two sections are lithograph illustrations of a cow’s teeth and jaw line showing a tumor-like growth. In the bottom and top side panels are etching illustrations of settlements in early western America depicting forts, mills, and the terrain. The frame is covered with a geometric stylized floral pattern in muted tones of tan, beige, and green. The title is written on the top left outside of the frame and the signature and date are at the bottom.
Original book cover title:
The Butler's Story by Arthur Train














Some elements of this assemblage. Select one to find other altered books with the same.