 Fragments By Gail Skoff Berkeley, California: Gail Skoff, 2009. Edition of 7 + 2 Artist's Proofs. 11.75 x 11.75" closed; 13 pages. Double-sided accordion. Archival pigment printing on Moab Entrada Rag Natural paper by The Lightroom. Letterpress printing by Peter Koch. Bookbinding by Pettingell Book Bindery. Handmade cover paper by Cave Papers. Title embossed on front board. Housed in a matching paper covered clamshell box. Gail Skoff: "Fragments is a handmade book presented in its own clam shell box. It contains twelve archival pigment photographs from Pompeii, Oplantis, and the Villa San Marco, which are located in the Campania region of Italy. An ancient floor frieze runs down the back of the book. "Maybe 15 years previous to making Fragments I had occasion to visit Pompeii and took many pictures. A decade later, immersed in a project photographing the colors on walls in the south of France where I live half of every year, I rediscovered these photos. That began a three-year long odyssey visiting the ruins in southern Italy, where I knew I had to go after rediscovering those snapshots. The colors in these ruins were so beautiful, some faded and others still intense. The forms, when photographed close-up appeared ancient and modern simultaneously, invoking an intense emotional response for me."
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