Cabbagehead Press ~ Arizona
(John Risseeuw)

Cabbagehead Press: "Risseeuw's art has often touched on political and social themes, including political corruption, equal rights, environmental abuse, fascism, illegal wars, arms proliferation, and sheer idiocy."

SFCB Shelter in Studio: John Risseeuw (May 2021): “Book artist and printer John Risseeuw shows us his home letterpress studio and some of his work inspired by world events over the last 20 years.” https://vimeo.com/548069298

You Can Help Yourself
By John Risseeuw
Tempe, Arizona: Cabbagehead Press, 2019. Edition of 10.

36 pages; 6.25 x 8.25". Three codex sections with two accordion sections in between. 6 copies with shaped deckles on the accordion sections and 4 copies on a different handmade paper. Printed letterpress in metal and polymer and an unknown wood type. Handmade papers leftover from artist's previous projects. Includes two-page footnote section. Bound in dark brown leather with paper title on front board. Blue belly band closure with "Federal Reserve" printed on it. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Colophon: "'You Can Help Yourself' was created in 2019 after a group study of Privilege brought long-considered concerns to a place of necessary witness. Billie Holiday's song has played in the background of my days for years, and its plaintive verse provided the starting point, finally, for a way into a print project on the subject of wealth inequality with substance appropriate to these days of chaos and idiocy. ... All completed by the proprietor, John Risseeuw, because he could, he wanted to, and he had to."

John Risseeuw: "The subject matter is income inequality. The title and some phrases inside are from Billie Holiday's 'God Bless the Child.' The rest of the texts are all factual from multiple sources that are footnoted at the end."

Text excerpt: "[The 2017-passed tax] cuts for middle-class wage earners fade over time. By 2026, changes to individual tax rules expire, while corporate changes are permanent.

"In 1933, corporate taxes provided 30.5% of federal revenues. In 2018 it will be 6.5%."

Artist’s Books Unshelved / We are the 99% : “This episode .. offers a passionate critique of income inequality and its disastrous effects.”
$1,600 (Last 2 copies)

Moorish Roses
By Leonard Lehrer
[Tempe, Arizona]: Cabbagehead Press, 1986. Edition of 52.

7 x 5", 12 pages. Accordion fold. Lithographic drawings by Lehrer. Laid in handmade paper-bound case. Numbered and signed by the artist on the colophon.

Colophon: "This book was prompted by memories of visits to Granada, Spain, where the Alhambra and its roses continue to remind us that paradise is a garden. "

Leonard Lehrer, artist statement www.leonardlehrer.com: "Among the forces directly impacting my work are the paintings of Pontormo, the gardens and domed ceilings of the Alhambra, the movie 'Last Year at Marienbad' and the writings of Jorges Luis Borges; the simultaneity of experience, i.e., that past, present and future all exist at the same moment - at this very moment - is at the very core of my understanding. Through my images I try to comprehend the very nature of my experience. I attempt to address the magic of the arts, the unexpected, the sense of discovery that the adventure of my life has provided for me. From the wonderment of the paradise garden to efforts in addressing great loss, I find that the arts embrace everything."
$400 (Last Copy)

Cabbagehead Press Out of Print Title:

One Night
By John Risseeuw
Tempe, Arizona: Cabbagehead Press, 1997. Edition of 40.

4 x 5.7" closed, one sheet book. Letterpress from wood type and large sans serif letters, mostly caps, in varying point sizes. Double-sided accordion. Pamphlet stitched in grey printed covers. Can be drawn out flat to create two long, landscape pages. Signed by the artist.

Pure typographic storytelling. Collaged and overprinted words and letters function as both text and illustration.

This explosion of sound-words - large OOOs, guttural expressions (awrr), and ambient noises (szs) - suggests setting and story, as the title fragment suggests that familiar and foreboding first line, "It happened one..." Imagination draws up things that go bump and shuffling sounds and creatures outside; or, perhaps nothing of the kind is meant. Open to broad interpretation.
(SOLD/Out of print)

T.M.
By John Risseeuw
1999. Edition of 25.

3.5 x 4.75”. Letterpress from typographic ornaments, sorts and wood type on grey paper handmade by Risseeuw for the edition. A single sheet, folded Origami-style, is sewn into black cloth over boards with a handmade paper label.

No, not a book on meditation, but a visual meditation on jazz great Thelonius Monk. Risseeuw crafts texture, color, and impression into a visual celebration and translation of the jazz sound. Monk fans will recognize titles and subtle visual and rhythmic references. The book elements work together to create a visual feeling for Monk's music. Quiet yet vibrant ink colors. Deep impression adds to the visual texture of the page.
(SOLD)