An Altered Book Wunderkammer

Cabinets of curiosities (also known in German as  Wunderkammer) were notable collections of objects.. The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture. Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art (including cabinet paintings), and antiquities. The classic cabinet of curiosities emerged in the sixteenth century, although more rudimentary collections had existed earlier.

I’ve always loved these vintage collections ( I’ve had to curb my own tendency to collect curiosities over the years) and when the Marin MOCA announced it’s popular altered book exhibition, I thought it the perfect opportunity to create a mini Wunderkammer. Sorting through my stack of vintage books, I chose a well worn collection of works by Plato. After gluing together the pages, I carved little shallow shelves to display favorite vintage images and found objects. Among the curated images and objects are: antique anatomical illustrations, wonderful bugs, beetles and butterflies, an antique skeleton key, a shell, a parrot feather, botanical art and more…

The Altered Book show is scheduled to open July 25th, running through August 29th, hopefully Covid19 will allow art shows to begin again - but wear your mask, please! There will be incredibly imaginative works of art created by skilled artisans from books in all shapes and sizes. For updated information - please check the Marin MOCA site.

Take a peek below for some closeup details of my little Wunderkammer, - hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed making…