On the Other Side

On the Other Side is a collaborative work between French artist Claire Fouquet and American book artist Patty Smith that addresses issues of emigration. The concept originated as a response to the fences built by the United States to keep out illegal immigrants and by the French government’s policy on immigration.

The book is a two-sided accordion with the recto side listing the fears that might be experienced by the emigrant. The cut windows entice the viewer to turn the concertina inside out. The verso side describes potential advantages, opportunities, and joys that might lead one “to  appreciate the unfamiliar”.  The work is also a comment on internal anxiety that prevents us from moving forward in our personal lives. Some obstacles, seemingly threatening and impossible to surmount, may be the product of our fear of failure or the unfamiliar. These illusions, manufactured by uncertainty, can be transcended through personal resolve and collective effort.

Out of print.

Images

Related blog posts

Patty Smith & Claire Fouquet: Without Borders

Holdings

Rhode Island School of Design, Ringling School of Art & Design, SUNY New Paltz, University of California (Santa Barbara), Wesleyan Library, University of Central Florida, New York Public Library, Yale University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Southern California, Sojourner Truth Library, St. Olaf College, Vassar College, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, University of Delaware, Indiana University Bloomington, Bucknell University, Bennington College, Library of Congress, Wesleyan University, Ohio State University, University of Iowa, George Mason University, Harvard University, Arizona State University, University of Oregon, Vamp & Tramp Booksellers, Carnegie-Mellon University, Claremont Colleges, University of California (Santa Cruz), Baylor University, UCLA, University of Texas (San Antonio), Massachusetts College of Art, University of Utah, Tufts University

Book PDF

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Metadata

Title:

On the Other Side

Date of publication:

2016

Place of publication:

Rosendale, NY

Publisher:

Women's Studio Workshop

Subjects:

immigration, borders, immigrants, illegal, legal, assimilation, opportunity, beginnings, danger, freedom, hardship, barriers, persecution

ISBN:

978-1-943039-04-3

Dimensions:

4 " x 5 1/2 "

Number in edition:

50

Paging:

24

Paper:

Reeves Lightweight

Printing method:

Silkscreen

Binding:

Accordion fold book

Funding source:

NYSCA, National Endowment for the Arts, Windgate Charitable Foundation, Cowles Charitable Trust, Milton and Sally Avery Foundation

Writer:

Claire Fouquet and Patty Smith

Printer:

Claire Fouquet, Patty Smith, and Molly Berkson