Barry McCallion
— The Afternoon of a Faun was the first in a series of modernist milestones that interested me. Nijinsky’s/Stravinsky’s/Ballet Russe production of The Rite of Spring came next and I recently made two books of Benjamin Britten/Christopher Smart’s Rejoice In The Lamb. Not long ago, the term “literary” applied to art was a lead-fisted criticism. I’ve always had a leaning toward narrative (my Oarsman character), and my books try to achieve a balance between visual art and literature.
There is An Art Auto-biography on my website and the section about the books (2010 — present) comes at the very end. https://www.barrymccallion.com/
Colophon – The Afternoon of a Faun
Vaslav Nijinsky was inspired by the Louvre’s collection of early Attic vases, but when he modeled The Faun’s choreography on the flattened figures he had seen, his stilted, processional movements (as well as the Faun’s overt sexuality) caused a riot.
For my treatment of the ballet I chose sheets of Richard de Bas cream wove paper for the pages and overlaid Debussy’s score. I then made outlines of Nijinsky, Nelidova, and the Nymphs from rehearsal photographs. Each outline subsequently became four printed images: the original, its mirror image, a tonal reversal, and its mirror image. Collages tell the story, mainly the outlined figures, but with support from India inks, decorative papers, pen, and acrylic paints.
Joelle Webber of Mermaid Bindery bound pamphlets and created pockets for the French and English versions of Mallarmé’s poem.