Following Ryan Gander’s moon sequence in Leporello N° 04, Jonathan Monk proposes that a new day is dawning. Saving himself the cumbersome task of yet again* walking in Ed Ruscha’s footsteps along the seemingly endless Sunset strip, Monk captures the zeitgeist through more accessible means. With the camera of his iPhone 12 set to Panoramic mode, Monk photographed Ruscha’s 1966 milestone artist’s book – perhaps the most celebrated book to ever utilize the leporello format.
For The Leporello Series, LL’Editions has invited a select group of international artists to contribute. Each artist is given carte blanche, restricted only by the accordion format and its ten panels (recto). To date, participating artists include (in order of appearance) Heimo Zobernig, Micah Lexier, Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, Ryan Gander, Shannon Ebner, Maurizio Nannucci, Karl Holmqvist and Jonathan Monk.
Inhabiting a space between book and paper sculpture, the Leporellos are printed on delicate Mohawk Superfine Eggshell paper. Each volume in the series is limited to 250 numbered copies which come in a bespoke rigid box, with the title hot foiled both on its front and on its spine, allowing it to sit comfortably in a bookshelf when not on display.
*In 2002, Jonathan Monk made the artist’s book ’None of the Buildings on the Sunset Strip’ (Revolver).
Biography
Jonathan Monk was born in Leicester in 1969. He lives and works in Berlin. Monk received a BFA from Leicester Polytechnic in 1988 and an MFA from Glasgow School of Art in 1991. In his work, Monk adopts the esthetics and practices of 1960s Conceptualism, but infuses the tradition with humor, levity, and autobiographical elements.
