Michael Snow (1) (1928–2023)

A performative exercise and masterclass in “photo-bookmaking”, Cover to Cover follows artist Michael Snow through a series of disorienting, domestic self-portraits. Snow, who remains quietly composed throughout, is depicted in various ordinary scenarios made ethereal by artful gestures in composition and lighting. Bookended by two closed doors on front and back cover, Snow makes obvious his intent to focus not on beginning or end, but the transitional space between.

Cover to Cover was show more originally released by the Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1975. Each page features a distinct moment, seen from one perspective on the front, and from a diametrically opposed angle on the back, occasionally pivoting, for instance, between interior and exterior spaces. This organizing principle is complicated by the fact that a given image might be a depiction of the physical environment surrounding the camera or, at other times, a photograph of a photograph. Midway through, the scene is inverted such that the volume must be turned upside-down to be looked at right-side up. The result is an elegant, disorienting study in simultaneity that allows the viewer to enter the work from either end. show less

A performative exercise and masterclass in “photo-bookmaking”, Cover to Cover follows artist Michael Snow through a series of disorienting, domestic self-portraits. Snow, who remains quietly composed throughout, is depicted in various ordinary scenarios made ethereal by artful gestures in composition and lighting. Bookended by two closed doors on front and back cover, Snow makes obvious his intent to focus not on beginning or end, but the transitional space between.

Cover to Cover was show more originally released by the Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1975. Each page features a distinct moment, seen from one perspective on the front, and from a diametrically opposed angle on the back, occasionally pivoting, for instance, between interior and exterior spaces. This organizing principle is complicated by the fact that a given image might be a depiction of the physical environment surrounding the camera or, at other times, a photograph of a photograph. Midway through, the scene is inverted such that the volume must be turned upside-down to be looked at right-side up. The result is an elegant, disorienting study in simultaneity that allows the viewer to enter the work from either end. show less

The writing of artist Michael Snow, ranging from essays and interviews and record album cover notes to filmscripts and speeches, offer insights into both the professional and the private Snow. Together, they expand the context of Snow’s work and show the evolution of a great Canadian artist, beginning with his early attempts at defining art, to his emergence and recognition on the international art scene.

Writing, for Michael Snow, is as much a form of “art-making” as the broad range of show more visual art activities for which he is renowned, including the “Walking Woman” series and the film Wavelength. Conversely, many of the texts included in this anthology are as significant visually as they are at the level of content ― they are meant to be looked at as well as read. Situated somewhere between a repository of contemporary thought by one of our leading Canadian artists and a history book as it brings to light some important moments in the cultural life of Canada since the 1950s, these texts tell their own story, marking the passage of time, ideas and attitudes. show less

This is, quite simply, the most brilliantly conceived thru-structured photography bk in existence (to my, of course, limited 'knowledge'). Looking thru the bk "Cover to Cover" involves the perceiver in a relationship w/ it unlike any other. For people who like to think & be in awe of clever patterns, experiencing this bk is better than masturbating to porn (& healthier!).