Under one moon 1, 2 and 3
Subtitle: [altered books]
By: Janet Marie Bradley
Contributors: Mutanabbī, Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn, 915 or 916-965; Macpherson, Hector, 1888-1956; Bernal, J. D. (John Desmond), 1901-1971; Wolfe, Humbert, 1885-1940; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
Publisher: [publisher not identified]
Published: 2012
Place of publication: [London, England]
Language: eng
Subjects: Violence; Pictorial works; Booksellers and bookselling; Bombings; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Protest movements; Books and reading in art; Intellectual life; Social conditions; Censorship; Terrorism in art; In art; War and civilization; Vehicle bombs; Visual literature; Specimens; Altered books; Artists' books; Whole and parts (Philosophy); Healing in art; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Other titles: Under one moon one, two and three
Description: This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

"On the pages of these books poetic words in both Arabic and English survive despite the destructive force of fire. They meet in the middle surrounded by the reflective light of silver. Beautiful words appear, rising not from the ash, but despite the ash. They are the winged creatures of our souls, birds on wires, perched in line on pages waiting to be read, spoken; waiting to take flight. Like birds, they are both fragile and powerful. Three different books share the same title. Under one moon 1, 2 and 3 are paired with their unaltered original copies. 1) The physical basis for life by J.D. Bernal (1949); 2) Snow: poems by Humbert Wolfe (1931) and 3) Guide to the stars by Hector Macpherson (1946). The inclusion of the unaltered books evokes wholeness and healing"--Artist's statement from the Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.

Janet Marie Bradley is a painter and mixed media artist with a particular interest in book art.
Notes: Material: Altered book, carbon from fire, silver leaf, ink, card catalogue envelopes with cards.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi Street is located in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, holds bookstores and outdoor bookstalls, cafes, stationery shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. It has been the longstanding heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community for centuries. In response to the attack, a San Francisco poet and bookseller, Beau Beausoleil, rallied a community of international artists and writers to produce a collection of letterpress-printed broadsides (poster-like works on paper), artists' books (unique works of art in book form), and an anthology of writing, all focused on expressing solidarity with Iraqi booksellers, writers and readers. The coalition of contributing artists calls itself Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition.

Gift; Beau Beausoleil; 2019-2020.

English and Arabic.
Table of contents: title: [Vol. 1].; title: The physical basis for life  -- Bernal, J.D. -- [v. 2].; title: Snow: poems  -- Humbert Wolfe -- [v. 3].; title: Guide to the stars -- Hector Macpherson.