Philip Zimmermann (Lecture Response)

Skye Evans

11/8/15

Philip Zimmermann Lecture Response

            Philip Zimmermann is an internationally recognized book artist born in Bangkok, Thailand to diplomatic parents and he talked about all the interesting countries he visited as a child and how they were a bit of an inspiration in his work. Zimmermann gave an illustrious history of his childhood and how he came to be disciplined in Fine Arts after deciding against being an architect. Printing presses are romantic to Philip Zimmermann because of their smell, the sound they make, and the craftsmanship involved in using them.

Zimmermann prefers the preparation process to the printing and binding itself; he chooses not to bind his own books. When an audience member asked what the hardest part was for him, Zimmermann said that running the press would give him anxiety and he didn’t like getting his hands dirty. He also said that making artist books is difficult because of the little money that is made so he finds others to put up the money. Zimmermann taught for 24 years and his favorite was the artist books class and he advocated making dummy books to keep kids offline for as long as possible. He taught all parts of printing preparation and pressing to his students to get them ready for the real world and to have a better chance at finding jobs.

I found his lecture very interesting but I did not like that he read from a script for most of the lecture without glancing at the audience. My initial impression was, “This guy teaches? Does he know what his class looks like?” but the Q&A at the end was much more engaging because Zimmermann spoke frankly and unrehearsed. Zimmermann’s mention of Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage as an inspiration grabbed my attention because I never studied the work as book art, only digital media, and I made an immediate connection. Zimmermann’s illustrations are really compelling and thought provoking. Once he pulled out Sanctus Sonorensis I made another connection because it is one of the books I knew.

My favorite work that Zimmermann showed was Celsius 233. The book is so smart in the way the reader sees the images of people burning books and the flame flap in the middle reads the description of whatever is opposite. The accompanying video showing the Third Reich in a blood-red filter burning books was incredibly powerful. Zimmermann’s idea of rear projecting the video on an entire wall with the book on a stand in the middle with illumination is the perfect way to display the piece as a whole. I wish I could see it in person. The book also comes with a blu-ray copy of the video. When Zimmermann showed how he had to display the piece on a small television with the book on a stand, my heart broke for him. That was an awful way to show Celsius 233 and I hope he can display it the way he wants to in the future.

The lecture was excellent as a whole and I was impressed that an artist of his caliber could come to the University of Nevada, Reno and share his life’s work with everyone. The only part that I did not like was the script but his life is fascinating and the concepts behind his work are completely new to me. Philip Zimmermann is a very humble artist who has worked anywhere and everywhere he could to hone his craft. While he may not be the best writer, his work is truly inspiring and is an experience in and of itself.