The Key book is constructed as a simple concertina, or accordion, with the first and last flaps tucked into a slipcase cover. Untucking the last flap reveals the colophon, which describes the book’s construction.
The Shannon Alder quote is a bit ironic: control is, in fact, the name of the game in printing—control to maintain a uniform edition. Artist books relax this control a bit during production. Although, as an artist open to the moment, control is often released in the conceptualization phase. The Key book was no exception.
The key image on the cover is letterpress. The interior keys were digitally printed (toner), using a photocopier to enlarge actual keys. Overlays were created by running the sheets through several times. Then the blue was mixed to match the cover paper color, printed using pressure printing and a work-and-turn approach, flipping the pressure printing stencil over between passes.
Owing to the length of the book, the printing was done in two sections: the left-hand set of panels, then the right. The text was the final layer of the print. In total, 12 printing passes were completed, plus one for the cover, before the book was ready for trimming and assembly.
