Casey Gardner
Beyond Question: Why Go?
Having already put together a full show, I was not particularly looking for a book I could not refuse, but that is what I got when Casey Gardner walked into the gallery and showed me this remarkable book. I love the rhythm of it and the textures. The writing tells an extraordinary journey toward becoming oneself. Casey began making books in the autumn of 2007 at California College of the Arts with Betsy Davids as her first teacher. She has since taken classes with Alisa Golden, Nance O’Banion, Macy Chadwick and Julie Chen. She studied graphic design and bookmaking at CCA, and will graduate in May, 2009.
Artist Statement
Why do we travel and what do we hope to find in the world when we venture into it? What do we leave behind and why? Traveling is an act of curiosity and wonder. It’s also about being open to the unknown, not only in the world, but in yourself. In the early nineties, I went traveling around the world alone. This book was about why I traveled, what I looked for, and what I found. The writings in Why Go are gleaned from the pages of two fat journals I found in a box I’d sealed more than a decade ago. Making the book was an exploration in how time affects our sense of meaning and interpretation. The book reflects the confrontation of my ideals with reality by relating some of my travel experiences, such as living on a commune in New Zealand, studying meditation at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand and transforming my historical perceptions in Vietnam.
The form and content reflect a process of layering, in that the reader can move through the book on varying levels. Some passages contain the raw language of the actual events, and other memories are processed deep in metaphor and design. The piece is a result of a long reflection and slow distillation of what I expected from the trip and how the experience is still alive today.
$750
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