The Planning:

As books are theoretically said to be extinct, since the creation of technology, the book most likely being extinct is the dictionary. No one rarely ever owns a dictionary, and if so, they hardly ever opened it. Today, we depend on search engines to gather information and definitions. The newly constructed book displays the “dead” but “not so dead” yet of the dictionary. The mission was to give an illusion, while at the same time giving a message. From different angles and positions the message of the book and hand differs from the viewers perspective.

The book was carved into layers. The deeper the layers go, the more pages each layer needed to be cut down. The hand was constructed using a rubber glove, while being worn, and positioned in the pose needed. To keep the shape of the hand, while at the same time not sitting in a chair for hours, masking tape was used to cover the entire glove. After removing the hand from the tapped glove, it was covered in pieces of dictionary paper by paper Mache, created with flour and water. Because the dictionary was new and wanted a “vintage” look, it was soaked in watercolor and edges of the book was destroyed. No wire was used to keep the hand in place; it was held by masking tape underneath and covered with pieces of dictionary paper.