I got lost in the Lower East Side yesterday and ran into the New Museum. The museum has switched locations three times since I’ve known it and I’ve followed it’s bookstore from SoHo to the West Side. I still hadn’t checked out the new location on the Lower East Side and was so excited when I saw the striking white building come into view. The shop was packed and much less stocked then the old locations, but I managed to shove a few people aside and pick up this book, a monograph of Swoon’s work. I’ve mentioned quickly about how much I love her street art here and here, but I had never seen so much of it. This book has some really amazing installations including all white thin paper cutouts hanging from the ceiling which I would have never guessed were hers. The book design seems to compliment her work well. The design plays with negative space and edges of photos are cut away in such a way that mimics Swoon’s own cut-outs. I think her work looks best when there’s layers of it and it’s glued over multiple textures. In some of the installations featured in the book she makes her interpretation of a city street before putting in her paper characters. She makes these three dimensional collages almost where old painted wood scraps become the medium. I saw one of the installations in this book in person and was really impressed. If you have the chance to see one make sure you do or else pick up this book here.

© Julia Rothman 2007