Camila Afanador

Book in Four Movements

SEQUENCE This assignment asked us to produce a book in four movements. Starting with a given word we where encouraged to explore the ideas in relation to the book. Mi given word was sequence. The first week of work I wrote a short reflection: Until now Ive been very computerdependent in my design process. Now Im trying to do the thinking and sketching without the computer, at least as much as possible. Sketching as a thinking tool is helping me to find ideas in a more natural way, although sometimes ideas will pop-up anytime. Creativity should not be dependent on the computer; it is just a tool for production. Im interested in reflecting on how using sketching as a thinking tool is affecting my process. So far, this intention is making me more aware of the work I do with my hands. While thinking particularly in our first assignment Im starting to be more aware of the action of turning the pages of a book. Im paying more attention and hopefully this will lead to a more fluid and natural way of making my assignments. The process for this book started by the very simple idea of turning the page as the action that represents the sequence, inherent to the book form. The repetition of a simple element, the line, served as the way to emphasize the idea of sequence through the pages of this accordion book. Through simple reflections on the meaning of sequence, this book explores the idea of visual rhythm refering to music but also refering to a panoramic view. When the book is read page by page as a regular book, fragments of the bigger picture are seen. When the book is unfolded, is evident the topography created by simulating the shapes of a mountain landscape. The second part of the book has the same shapes in black and in individual unbinded pages, intented to create a experience of matching shapes and completing the book operating as a puzzle to solve.
Previous sketches of the idea and small dummie.

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Explorations on the use of lines as elements to create a sequence

The two parts of the book and how the unfold and start having a relation.

CONCRETE BOOKS course

Prof. Thomas Ockerse

Camila Afanador
Book in Four Movements

SEQUENCE + PAST The second movement was the combination of the first fiven word and an emotion. We where asked to use no the emotion itself, but what we learned from it. After making my second book I wrote this short reflection: The emotion I started working with was nostalgia. Being away from my country makes me reflect on my life back there. A list of words emerged from this experience: emotional bond, sadness, memories, place, homesick, sense of belonging, sensibility, present, past and future. I defined what I learned from this emotional experience as awareness of the past and how it influences my present.

The work Im doing for the class contrasts with the work Im trying to put together for my thesis. Ive been doing research, reading, writing and trying to connect The book is an abstract representation my previous work with a thesis idea. Is of this reflection. The whole in the cover difficult to articulate projects and make sense of a proposal. On the other side my represents the present as an empty moment in time through which we can process for this class feels more natural look to the future but also look back to an intuitive. Ive been learning by making and Im not afraid of trying an idea. When I the past. The size of the pages change spend more time reflecting and sketching will passing the pages representing the passage of the years. The whole notion for an idea I feel that afterwards the idea of time is strongly related to sequence, I had is better represented in my work. which was my starting word. Maybe it has to do with the time I get to spend with each of my book assignments. Sometimes the production of my books starts without having a complete clear idea of what Im trying to do. Or maybe I just need to actually make the book to realize that I could push further the concepts Im using. I guess thats what our class is for.

Dummie and initial sketches

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2, 3. Sequence in four steps through the pages of the book

CONCRETE BOOKS course

Prof. Thomas Ockerse

Camila Afanador
Book in Four Movements

SEQUENCE + PAST + IRREGULARITY The third movement added to the equation irregularity. The assignment asked us to include an idea to the initial word and the emotion. My process of thought started with the idea of inequality which is usually strongly related with social and economical issues. By finding ideas related to inequality I made a word map that included the following words: contrast, disproportion, difference, disparity, variability, imbalance, uneven and irregular. I decided to work with the abstract idea of irregularity.The book in itself is a sequence with beginning, middle and end. I wanted to explore with an irregular sequence and see the results. Every page in this book is different. The shapes change every time you turn the page. I used multiple papers and different texture patterns for each page. The result shows how different shapes and colors make the book different every time you turn the page. The experience is variable and umpredictable to the reader.

First sketches of the idea

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Spreads of the books .

CONCRETE BOOKS course

Prof. Thomas Ockerse

Camila Afanador
Book in Four Movements

SEQUENCE + PAST + IRREGULAR + FRAGMENT The last addition to the book was an experience with nature. I went for a walk in India Point Park to experience nature and think of my fourth book. I wrote this reflection for this book: The process of making the last book was hard. In the end I was not completely satisfied with the form of my book. It was hard to understand what part from my experience was that I was trying to translate into my book. I couldnt start making before knowing where I was going. It was different from the previous books where I started by making small mock-ups and that way I came to the idea for my book. I feel that in the end after the struggle, I translated my experience with nature too literally into the object. I see the resulting book as a sketch for the real book. Maybe I didnt spend enough time thinking of the experience the object would provoke. Sometimes things just dont come together easily. Its been happening to me that when I need to do a lot of work I just cant calm down and work fluently. Im too anxious to concentrate and sometimes it takes me too long to find concentration. I just try to remember all the time that all these should be fun. During my visit to the park I noticed mostly the shadows of the trees in the grass. Also I noticed that by standing really close to the tree, looking at a part of the trunk I was seeing also the shadows of the branches and leaves. The sound of the wind and the leaves was also a way of feeling the tree. Only by looking this small part I was actually perceiving the whole tree. I started thinking on fragments and wholes. How much of the tree do you need to see and understand the whole? My book is a reflection on this. I translated the idea of the trunk into an accordion book. You can see every page individually and get a partial idea of the whole thing. The great thing about accordion books is that they un fold and you can see the whole book at once.

1. Captions for the illustrations. Helvetica Neue Light 7/8p. track 0)

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2, 3. Captions for the project illustrations. Helvetica Neue Light 7/8p. track 0)

2, 3. Captions for the project illustrations. Helvetica Neue Light 7/8p. track 0)

CONCRETE BOOKS course

Prof. Thomas Ockerse

Camila Afanador
Book for an event

This assignment was about an experience. The idea of the book is to represent that experience. During the event each of us where asked to present a letter through a performance or experience. The process of making this book was very natural for me. Without overthinking I just started sketching by memory the most important moments of the event. I decided to represent each part in a symbolic way using very simple abstractions. I used the letters that where performed as an element that throughout the event built the word: CONCRACT. The book considers silence as an important element during the event and tried in that sense to make a silent book. Seven words are unfolded during the experience: energy, joy, inquiry, mindfulness, calm, concentration and equanimity.

Cover and one of the spreads from the book.

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I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I needed it.John Cage

First sketches of the book

Going through the pages there are flaps that reveal a word.

CONCRETE BOOKS course

Prof. Thomas Ockerse

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Camila Afanador
Final Book

INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE This book is an exploration on the tension between the individual an the collective. Is started by thinking of the idea of public and private and how those very broad concepts could be represented in a book. My intention is to explore how the book form transforms itself into something that can exist in a wall for collective reading. A collection of four booklets that can be read as conventional books can also be unfolded and together form a message. My process for this book was similar to the previous one. I just started making without thinking to much. The idea was clear from the beginning, I just needed to figure out a form and a content to pursue my idea. I collected quotes on the individual and the collective by important thinkers. These and the pictures if these individuals served as the content. I also played around with pairs of words, that are revealed through the experience of opening the pages and looking inside. The part of every process that I enoyed the most was working with my hands and letting things happen naturally. Overall, I think the class was a space for me to gain self confidence in me and my work.
Four initial sketches for the book

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