Brad Freeman, “WE TOO”

Brad Freeman
Chicago, Illinois
youtube.com/watch?v=Yvfz7u2h2iE

WE TOO
2020
Artist’s book
8.75″ (width) x 11.75″ (height)

 

Artist Statement

The title of my artist’s book, WE TOO, refers to our commonality as humans—the things we share communally and personally—our shared complicity in the events of the future—our circumstantial destinies as individuals—our responsibilities as a species on our planet. WE TOO is an experimental narrative without a storyline as such but with associations that hopefully impress upon the reader/viewer a residual meaning they can take into their own lives. We view the world through our personal filters and WE TOO started as my personal story based on some of the accidental events of my life.

Among other things, WE TOO contains a sentimental homage to my father using some of his photos in a postmortem collaboration—and an expression of love for a friend—floating along in various page-to-page sequences, interventions, ruptures, recapitulations, and associations that hopefully convey some of my views about the world and the bookness of the book.

References to history ranging from past geologic time measured in the millions of years to current events occur throughout the book. Without overtly revealing my purpose, the images and text are meant to present the importance of understanding our past as a species and as individuals in order to attempt to avoid the mistakes of the past and the looming self-inflicted environmental disaster.

At the same time, WE TOO as a printed book is my attempt to make a beautiful object that reflects our ongoing quest for happiness and fulfillment. This may seem paradoxical, but aren’t we?

WE TOO is a casebound 68-page book; 11.75” (h) x 8.75” (w).
WE TOO contains two inserted books:
KOREA—JAPAN—1963, 24 pages, 9” (h) x 5.625” (w) and
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR, 16 pages, 5.5” (h) x 3.75” (w).
There are 56 signed and numbered copies in the edition. The paper is Mohawk Superfine and Asuka kozo with color throughout. Printed and bound by the artist.