Rescuing Q: Quandaries and Queries
Tucson, AZ: Suzanne Moore, 2024. Original Wrappers. Fine binding. Item #9704
Folio. [26] pp., illus. Limited edition, one of 26 lettered variants. Lettered and signed by Moore. Bound in Cave paper wrappers with gold tooling, with an original piece of process art laid into a paper folder, all housed in clamshell. The latest in a remarkable body of work by Suzanne Moore, this artist's book employs printing by polymer plates by Sandy Tilcock at lone goose press as well as handset vintage type by Jessica Spring at Springtide Press. Original work—collage, embossing, gilding, and hand coloring in pencil and gouache—by Moore assures that each of the 26 lettered copies are variants, not identical.
The overarching vision of this book is an artistic and philosophical exploration of the letter "Q." Moore writes, "Q is key to Latin words of inquiry, and questions inspire conversation, idea exchange and research. This book was designed as an antidote to Q-Anon, and reminder that there is power in the act of questions—and listening with an open mind. Through sincere questioning, consideration, and conversation we can move to otherwise impossible connections—and new levels of understanding." Interspersed throughout Moore's lettering are printed questions offered by Moore and her friends. These range from playful to poetic, from intimate and deeply personal to grand considerations of the Nature of Things. The one commonality is that none of these questions are easily answered, if answerable at all; but all are worth consideration.
Among the most impactful aspects of Moore's book is the profound and relentless way in which she demonstrates that even simple concepts can be so much more than they seem. She takes the letter Q, as straightforward a letterform as any, and gives it more than a hundred iterations from humble to breathtakingly dynamic. If something as simple as a letterform can be so much more complicated and varied while retaining its identity . . . is nothing fixed, decided, solid? And in that question, we are brought back to Moore's central proposition: "Through sincere questioning, consideration, and conversation we can move to otherwise impossible connections—and new levels of understanding." An important proposition at a time where intractability is the sentiment du jour. A stunning and inimitable book.
Also available with an annotated process portfolio, inquire for details and pricing.
Price: $3,500.00