My book, originally entitled, The Gay Decades, chronicles gay culture and political news
from the Stonewall riots to 1990. Its format was intriguing as the content consists of little
bites of information—one to two paragraphs on events from Culture Club musical hits
being released to tragic gay-bashing murders. I liked the idea of taking content that had
already been condensed and compacting it even further by chopping the book up into thirds
and folding and re-sewing it. Simultaneously by doing this, I was also elongating the text
physically, as well as the longevity of the book's life itself. I chopped up the paperback
cover into 3"x3" pieces and laminated the 12 or so pieces into two cover boards. The cover
retained some of the original graphics but was now much stronger. I then machine-stitched
many of the pages. While it ended up appearing perhaps more lewd than I intended, the
dangling threads are reminiscent of body hair (pubic, underarm, and perhaps a long
mustache). The “hairs” become appropriate regarding gender and sexuality issues of the
concept itself. This crime was, in a practical sense, inhuman. The perpetrator ignored
people’s innate differences, and took away information available to the public. All the books
he destroyed were about people. Not carpentry, or computer technology, or undersea
animals—but human beings. I wanted to bring life back into the concept and so made a
pint of including excerpts of the SFPL label and Date Due slip (in addition making it “hairy”)
as they display and are a reminder of the human presence this book once provoked. While
æsthetic judgments were made along the way, and quality of craftsmanship was considered,
my intentions remained admittedly spiteful. I was determined to (re)create something that
still provided the same information (leaving all the original text readable) and had the
potential of returning to its home. The book’s purpose is not the same as when it was first
published, but I hope that this new piece proves just as significant as the original.
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