Accordion Books: Interplay Between Form and Content

The Happersett accordion is an artist’s book made from stiff brown paper creased into accordion folds and glued together at the ends to form a Mobius strip. A Mobius strip is a one-sided surface that is constructed by affixing the ends of a rectangular strip after giving one of the ends of the strip a twist. It’s a mathematical concept of an object that is a non-orientable, two-dimensional surface that has only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. It is accompanied by an accordion folded certificate of authenticity with assembly instructions and warning that the product is mind boggling Mobius device.

What’s Happening with Momma? by Clarissa Sligh utilizes both a house-shaped accordion structure and interior accordion pieces attached to the house structure as a way to allow the reader to interact with the book. The story is of a memory of the artist’s younger sister being born at home.

The Teacher's Guide to Management: Gender Difference edition is an artist’s book dealing with sexual assault. It’s folded in accordion style with a comic strip style of art that is both handwritten and hand drawn. The inside pages and cover are both made from generic scrapbook paper and the pages are attached to the cover using gold washi tape.

Free Little Bird combines text from an Appalachian folk song and excerpt from Maya Angelou’s book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” with a nested accordion binding and a repurposed mahogany wood cover. The front cover is engraved with an image of a bird. Pages are laser cut in paper doll style with bird images and there are 9 linocut blocks with text and images of birds.

Executive Order 9066 by Mary Jeanne Linford is an accordion folded artist’s book attached to boards covered with printed Japanese paper. The pockets in the accordion hold reproductions of photographs taken during the evacuation and forced relocation of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. With each photo is a small card of text that contains reports and editorials from local newspapers, as well as text by Kay Nakao and Joseph Conrad.

14 Mysteries by Bea Nettles is an accordion folded book with printed images of keys and an actual key embedded under the leather cover of the book. The color images are of fourteen keys found in Nettles’ home when she moved to Illinois in 1984.

Memories of Science by Dorothy A. Yule is an artist’s book with an accordion folded structure with five pop-ups. The structure is fitted into a glass-topped box with a tray on the base holding a three-inch audio disc. The engravings are from Dover Pictorial Archives and ‘The complete encyclopedia of illustration’ by Johann Goerge Heck.

The Girl in the Moon by Jessica Spring is an artist’s book that can be displayed in accordion shape or in a star shape. The book uses both metallic and glow-in-the-dark inks so it can be seen in both sun and moonlight. The book cycles the reader through one full moon night to view all manner of mischief.

Sandy Hook by Ginger R. Burrell is an artist’s book memorializing the 20 children and 6 staff members killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. The artist has taken school portrait style photographs with teddy bears to stand in for the children and apples to stand in for the adults. The photographs are laid out in yearbook style and feature the names, birthdates, and death dates for each person killed.

[The coaching book] by MalPina Chan is an artist’s book that utilizes immigration papers, maps, family photographs, and artwork to examine the artist’s own Chinese-American heritage. The book is accordion-folded and uses monoprint, image transfer, kozo paper, and silk-covered board.

Orihon by Tom Burtonwood is a 3D-printed, book-like object that consists of eight leaves and six relief illustrations. Illustrations were created using photogrammetric scans of a sculpture. Leaves are connected by hinges and folded in accordion-style.

The Wedding Plans by Kirstin Demer is an artist’s book in accordion fold with heart-shaped pages. The pages feature an original poem that is hand-set and printed by the artist on cotton paper. The book rests in a heart-shaped metal case with a transparent plastic lid.

El llibre del cau Llibre joc del cau by Fidel Pereiro is an artist’s book bound in accordion-style format. The contents slip out of the binder board to form a gameboard. A die and the rules of the game are included.

Foss: Legendary Waterfalls of Iceland by Bea Nettles features four books folded in accordion-style and printed on one side with photographs of Icelandic waterfalls. The photographs are accompanied by text about the waterfalls.

Unbound by Jessica Peterson is an artist’s book that is letterpress-printed on handmade paper and produced collaboratively by community members in Farmville and faculty and students at Longwood University. It has accordion-folded pages with text, gold stars, and a timeline on both sides. The content deals with the closing of public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia after a court order to desegregate and the exodus of white students to private schools while Black students were left without access to education.