Noa Vigny Billick

THIS ROOM IS MADE OF BOOKS

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate value in book art, a generally undervalued art form in the art world, and to highlight the power of narrative. Aiming to expose the archive of self, I pull from a variety of theorists, ranging from Walter Fisher and Umberto Eco to Albert Camus, touching on a unique set of subjects that find their way down the same road to create a balanced space for new questions to be asked. This project pushes boundaries to prove a point, and to reframe the book less as a literary form than as a shifting cultural object. THIS PAPER IS MADE OF BOOKS is about many things, but is really about books, how we communicate and what we trust to hold that communication: not only the object, but the oral tradition it intermingles with, too.

I aim to remind you, my reader, that books are special and unique, and irreplaceable: the book is both symbol and object, and needs to be reintroduced as such to demonstrate its true value. So, I ask you, in reading this, to keep a few things in mind. First, this project uses autoethnography as research framework and as methodology, which allows me to look inwards and share outwards, respectively. Second, bookmaking, from both object and print perspective, is another methodology and lens through which I observe the book; and last, even if you have never been a fan of reading, keep your mind open to seeing books in places you wouldn’t expect.

This is a paper made of books, and therefore is a book itself. This book is broken into parts, each referring and expanding on one key idea: the book as self and as archive. This book’s research is firstly rooted in bookmaking and its evolving process, closely followed by Jewishness and its sharing nature. This book is balanced: it contains humour, seriousness, personal anecdotes, and theories; it was written to be a clear refusal of obsolescence. This book embraces its reader, welcomes them, and invites them to participate. This book shares a softness, a sensitive and personal approach to a thesis, in a way that invites discussion, reflection, and welcomes all to the table.

Keywords: book, archive, memory, humour, narrative, possession, collection

Website: www.noabillick.com

Instagram: @notnoa