Artist's Statement

I adore the physicality of books through holding them, flipping the pages and touching the bindings. The holding of a book is an act of adoration and admiration of the artistry. The touch of a hand-bound book gives me a jolt of energy that sparks its existence into form. When people encounter a book of mine, I'd like them to hold it, touch it and interact with it. Only when a book is being held, opened and interacted with, it becomes alive and wholesome as an object. The next step is to hope that people will actually use it. A book can manifest its potential when it helps its owner to think and to write, it should be able to augment the thought process when used.

I often begin a piece by thinking about colors. I think about how different colors can play out on a book through the threads, ribbons, paper and fabrics. I often see the visual composition of the book in my mind before putting together the book, as a graphic designer arranging the shapes and colors. The entire book acts as a graphic design canvas and each element contributes to the final visual and physical form for the book. The cover, the stitching, the sections and the end paper perform their own functions with their own colors and forms. The physical book is a graphic object that incorporates lines, shapes, forms and colors. I know a piece is done when I get the chill holding it in my hand upon completion. This is the ultimate moment I long for during the process of making each and every book.

I have been making books since I was a kid, and made multi-media book projects as a teenager as a way to express my longings and intense emotions of those years. I started to express emotions and feelings with the physicality of books, through their forms, bindings, paper and colors. There is a harmony in my work between perfection and imperfection. Imperfection creates individuality, and it also sparks new possibilities and perspectives in the piece.

My favorite tool is the bone folder. It transforms a flat sheet paper into objects that are vital to a book. Sheets of paper are flat and thin. The magic of books comes from the collaboration of sheets; their stacking creates a substantial volume that makes a book take shape and alive. I also take pictures of every book that I make. I find that through photography, books are transformed into graphic art as pictures.

Dennis Yuen
July 16, 2006

Top

About Dennis Yuen

Dennis Yuen is an artist and award-winning designer who works with a range of media including: book arts, interactive media, photography, film and video. He is a partner of the consulting business litchinut. Dennis has designed, developed and managed numerous interactive projects for clients including American Express, Tribeca Film Festival, Dorling Kindersley, Devilliar Donegan Enterprises, Public Affairs Television, Food Network, Lifetime Television, PBS, United Nations and UNICEF. Recently he has led the development of mobile walking tours as one of the most cutting-edge content delivery platforms in the US.

While Dennis has been making books since he was a child. He practices Coptic, long stitch, stab, pamphlet and flat-back binding, often applying variations on these traditional techniques to fascinating effect. Dennis maintains his own paper and bookmaking weblog, Cai Lun, which has gained popularity in the bookbinding community.

Dennis holds a Bachelor degree in film from Hong Kong Baptist University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Parsons School of Design.

Visit parallelbarrel.com for Dennis's digital portfolio.

Top

Site design by Dennis Yuen.