artists' books collection

scrutiny in the great round, by tennessee rice dixon

Tennessee Rice Dixon, Scrutiny in the Great Round.   (New York : Granary Books, 1992)

Printed on one side of a continuous strip, the pages are folded accordion style and attached at the ends to separate boards. The book is housed in a black cloth-covered solander box by Jill Jevne.

“Rooted in biology and informed by prophecy, this book traces an alchemical lifeline in time: from before conception to after birth. A range of evolutionary characteristics, from sacred to profane, are here evoked through a visual narrative of intense investigation, potent with beauty. A host of images, from seventeenth-century alchemical engravings to twentieth-century high school science book illustrations, editioned on a photocopier, provide the background for Dixon’s original collage, drawing, and painting. Hinting at autobiography, Scrutiny in the Great Round is concerned with the imagery of fertility, reproduction, birth, and growth.” – Granary Books.

Imagery from this mysterious, enchanting, enigmatic book has also been made into an interactive CD-ROM and a video game, created by Tennessee Rice Dixon and Jim Gasperini.  The 1995 CD-ROM can be found online via Internet Archive (if you can find the software and operating system to play it).  Click HERE for a review and interview with Tennessee Rice Dixon and Jim Gasperini on Salon.