Country Made of Dirt
In Country Made of Dirt, artist Eliot Dudik presents a series of vignetted images of ambiguous faces, quiet gestures, and verdant foliage printed in classical tondo compositions and overlaid with text. Simultaneously uplifting and elegiac, Country Made of Dirt manifests ideas of country and community, hope and desire, and allusions to the cycles of life and death, through a meditation on collective myth and ritual. The book’s unique scale and presentation provides an intimate viewing experience from which each viewer is invited to consider our shared yearning for fellowship and meaning amidst the inevitability of loss.
In Country Made of Dirt, artist Eliot Dudik presents a series of vignetted images of ambiguous faces, quiet gestures, and verdant foliage printed in classical tondo compositions and overlaid with text. Simultaneously uplifting and elegiac, Country Made of Dirt manifests ideas of country and community, hope and desire, and allusions to the cycles of life and death, through a meditation on collective myth and ritual. The book’s unique scale and presentation provides an intimate viewing experience from which each viewer is invited to consider our shared yearning for fellowship and meaning amidst the inevitability of loss.
In Country Made of Dirt, artist Eliot Dudik presents a series of vignetted images of ambiguous faces, quiet gestures, and verdant foliage printed in classical tondo compositions and overlaid with text. Simultaneously uplifting and elegiac, Country Made of Dirt manifests ideas of country and community, hope and desire, and allusions to the cycles of life and death, through a meditation on collective myth and ritual. The book’s unique scale and presentation provides an intimate viewing experience from which each viewer is invited to consider our shared yearning for fellowship and meaning amidst the inevitability of loss.
Country Made of Dirt includes sixteen platinum and palladium photographs, handmade by Eliot Dudik. The images are accompanied by a poem written by Arielle Greenberg, letterpress printed by Dudik on vellum. The book is situated within a handmade box that transforms into a viewing stand with convex lens. The book and box were designed and constructed by Eliot Dudik in an edition of 20 with 1 artist proof.
This book was made possible through the generous support of Brenton Hamilton, Arielle Greenberg, Jared Ragland, Tabitha Timm, Maine Media Workshops & College, William & Mary, Hahnemühle, Talas, Martha & Carl Tack, Skip Klein, and Jon Cone.
Platinum & palladium prints handmade by the artist on Hahnemühle Platinum Rag at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Type set in Mrs Eaves and Trade Gothic and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal I.
Letterpress printed and bound while in residence at Maine Media Workshops + College, Rockport, Maine.
Designed and produced by Eliot Dudik
Photographs & design © 2017 Eliot Dudik, 9mark press.
Poem sequence written by Arielle Greenberg in Belfast, Maine, © 2017 Arielle Greenberg.
Part of the permanent collection at:
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Yale University - Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Duke University - Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library
William & Mary - Special Collections
University of Connecticut - Archives & Special Collections
Virginia Commonwealth University - Special Collections and Archives
