Hi Five! is an artist book documenting Béatrice Coron’s site-specific installation for The New York Historical’s exhibition In Profile: A Look at Silhouettes. Coron’s hand-cut panoramic silhouettes of the five boroughs of New York City are faithfully crafted in miniature in these numbered books from an edition of only 100 handmade by the artist. Each book includes a negative of the original papercut. In this piece, the artist used one of her favorite media that departs from the traditional media of silhouette: Tyvek.
What is a artist book? Unlike an art book, catalog or monograph that tends to showcase artworks created in another medium, the term ‘artists’ books’ refers to publications that have been conceived as artworks in their own right Much like any act of reading, an artists’ book is a physical experience that allows a connection with the medium that is individual and personal. The interplay of text and images, as well as considerations of printing processes, oftimes hand manufacture, and the design of the book, allows for many exciting possibilities within narrative, media, and meaning that are specific to the artists’ book alone.
Béatrice Coron's oeuvre includes illustration, book arts, fine art and public art. She cuts her characteristic silhouette designs in paper and Tyvek. She also creates works in stone, glass, metal, rubber, stained glass and digital media.
