A Word to the Wise, Or Not
For the most part the early peep shows did not have text, but they were
far from silent affairs. They had to compete with other attractions at
the fair, such as dancing bears, learned pigs, jugglers, acrobats, puppeteers,
magicians and vendors. Bells, horns, drums or other musical instruments
accompanied the barker "selling" the peepshow:
"I am Tom West, the Peep-show Man, and have many pretty as well as curious things to show you, my little dears. The charge is only one halfpenny; and for that you may see the great Polar bear of the Arctic regions, also a tiger-hunt, along with many other wonderful sights, in my peep-show, which would take hours to tell you about. But step forward — step forward, and see what you will see! That's right, my little master; now put your eyes close to the round window, and keep them very wide open. We are just about to commence; so pay attention, and listen with all your ears."
The string of enticements, stories and amazing
facts goes on for over a hundred pages in Sights At A Peep-Show
(1874, anon.)
Language, in most cases spoken, was an important part of peep shows from
their inception and it remains an integral component of tunnel books.
Text is not a requirement for a tunnel book. Text does, however, an element
that conveys bookness on what might otherwise be a non-book object.
One attractive characteristic of tunnel books is
the variety of ways text can be incorporated 
into
the structure. Whether or not to add a written message and where to place
it depends on the artist's goal. For this author, text has always been
an important part of this tunnel books. In A Great Lunch (1996)
each section of the side hinges is a separate page with it's own portion
of the text. In Grandma's Closet (1991) 
and
Gertie Escapes (1999) the text dances across the entire width of
each side hinge. The text is placed on the folds for Rainbow Galaxy
(1999), and the reader encounters half of the text when the book is viewed
from the front and the other half when the book is turned around and viewed
from the back. The text for Tunnel O' Love (1994) hops from one
panel to the next within the tunnel. In Windows (1994) the text
is confined to the back panels. Miniature San Francisco (1996)
has no text. The viewer's familiarity with the famous landmarks represented
in the book makes text unnecessary.
Julie Chen has provided an elegant and ingenious
use of Elizabeth McDevitt's text in Octopus (1992). The entire
text was printed on every other panel. But because parts of each panel
have been cut away and parts of other panels overlap, only one line of
text is revealed at a time. The text undulates and enlightens over the
course of 14 watery panels. The book measures 12" x 13" and
opens to 36." It is an impressive presentation.
"My artist's books begin with a concept, not
with a manuscript," writes Marylee Bytheriver. "I design each
element of the book — 
materials,
structure, content — as integrated and interactive expressions of
the overall concept." For Outside Art (1998), text is an integral
part of the concept. By adding a third top hinge the artist has created
a cave setting as much as a tunnel. The reader can peer through a peephole,
in this case constructed to resemble a broken window of a derelict building,
or swing the front panel aside for a fuller view. The natural cave setting
inside the book is set up in opposition to the rundown urban structure
outside the book. At the same time the text contrasts the 35 Native American
petroglyphs inside the tunnel with contemporary graffiti scrawled on the
outside. The tunnel book structure allows the reader to experience both
messages in the context in which they are typically found.
When the author first saw Tunnel Vision from
Laura Davidson, he guessed at her ambivalence over the construction project
that had polarized much of Boston. When asked, Davidson responded with
a detailed explanation of how the project had impacted her life, both
positively and negatively. "With this love/hate relationship, I decided
that I couldn't pinpoint text, because at any given time, I feel completely
different about the project. In the end, I realized, all I wanted to do
with this book was to remember this awesome view for myself, and to share
it with others." Words not a required element of tunnel books. Sometimes
the emotions that are aroused are equally eloquent.
Self Image (1994), as the creator Deborah
Philips Chodoff describes it, "...has irregular openings that allow
the viewer to see his or her reflection framed by the metallic painting
on the backs of the tiles. Because the tiles have been heated, the images
are distorted and the reflection at the end of the tunnel is tiny."
It is a visually inviting, sculpturally complex book and has no words
The viewer's face provides the message. Whose face does not speak volumes?
By incorporating the viewers face in the structure the artist has created
a tunnel book unique and personal to each observer.
There are many ways to deliver a word to the wise
and when it comes to tunnel books the possibilities are endless.
The Challenge and Triumph of Time
A common observation about tunnel books is that because they open up to
produce a singe scene, they are limited to a singlemoment in time. "Because
the scene is taken in all at once by the viewer," notes Chodoff,
"passage of time cannot be portrayed (except as suggested by accumulation,
as in Ed Hutchins' tunnel book, Grandma's Closet, or metaphorically
as in my tunnel book Self Image in which one looks through holes
in warped mirror tiles at a reflection of oneself.)"
But tunnel book artists (and artists in every medium)
have learned to pack time into a single view. In A 
Peep-Show
Alice (1989), Maryline Poole Adams packs all the highlights from the
familiar tale of Alice in Wonderland onto five panels of one book and
a companion volume presents the highlights of Through the Looking Glass
on another five panels. Poole also created A Maze-In Mystery, in
which a murder takes place with clues, a cast of suspects, a victim, a
perpetrator (in and out of disguise), a weapon and a solution.
"With its linked parallel planes," observes
Rand Huebsch, "the tunnel book can imply the passage of time or a
series of events. In As You Like It (1999), each panel depicts
a separate scene. Unified, they comment on each other, so that the book
recalls those early Renaissance paintings that simultaneously displayed
several episodes of a saint's life. Circe (1992) presents a chapter
from The Odyssey in which a sorceress transforms sailors into swine.
In the furthest and "earliest" panel, she offers a bowl of potion
to an unsuspecting man. In the next one, a pig-headed human figure appears,
and in each succeeding panel he becomes more pig than man until the last
panel where a swine leaps. Because each page has a framework of stylized
brambles, the book is ambiguous: it may be showing different beings at
a single moment, or one being in various stages of a metamorphosis."
In the author's book Don't Peek (1991) the
text is just three words and two are the title, but it is the text that
drives the action. When the panels are expanded a new word is revealed
that not only changes the view, but also changes time.
A collaboration by Doloras Kinal, Geraldine Murrill
and Annette Purnell resulted in The Journey (1999) where the main
character falls off a star, cascades through space and lands on a whale
on successive panels in the same book.
Structure is another way that artists can control
time. One of the most powerful tunnel books ever created is Carol Barton's
Loom (1989). It is, the artist reports, "The largest tunnel
book edition I have produced – an edition of 600. It combines Oriental
rug motifs with photographic landscapes and a view of the earth "looming"
in space through the tunnel." To this author her book is all about
time. Barton has constructed her book so that the side hinges fold to
hide the central viewing area. As the panels expand, the side hinges open
away, one at a time, and the viewer no longer dwells on the surface of
the rugs, but is taken on a trip to their very core and discovers the
universe. Barton explains, "I think it is successful because it pushes
the format beyond being just a novelty ‘theater.' Incorporating images
along the binding strips, on both sides of the pages, and through the
tunnel, as well as a text on the back cover encourages the viewer to "read"
the message of the book from several different perspectives." It
is a timeless experience.
While many tunnel books present a single view at
one moment of time many artists have discovered a variety of approaches
to capture and tame time in the tunnel book format.
The Siren Call of the Forbidden View
Early peep shows achieved their popularity not because of the artistic
skill of the construction but because of the mystery they offered to an
unsophisticated audience. Despite the current connotation of the word
"peep show," they favored the exotic over the erotic. For people
who seldom left their neighborhoods the traveling peepshow tantalized
them with views of foreign lands, life in the royal court and secret societies.
One of the popular subjects for the early peepshows of Martin Engelbrecht
was the secrets of Freemasonry.
Alas the illicit associations with the peep shows
of the turn of the century still linger. When the author searched for
Peepshows: A Visual History at Amazon.com he was quickly referred
to Tales from the Clit, Live Sex Acts, The Lusty Lady,
Behind the G-String and Tricks and Treats (by Cherie, Wendy
and Erika)! Tunnel books rarely live up to their shady past, but the promise
of a secret view is still a forceful enticement for the reader/viewer.
The popularity of Grandma's Closet by this author has much to do
with the ability to view secret and forbidden treasures.
Regardless of the subject matter, the physical
structure of tunnel books creates an intimate setting that immediately
draws the reader into the heart of the book. The viewer is not merely
holding an object, the participant has mentally entered the structure
and is surrounded by the environment created by the artist. Experiencing
this intimate setting is not a group activity. It is one-on-one communication
between the artist and the viewer/reader. Few book structures can so quickly
grab the reader's attention, separate them from their surrounding environment,
and put them so completely in the hands of the artist. It's almost like
alchemy; certainly it's enchantment.
The Future Viewed Through Tunnel Vision
So far this author has editioned 14 different tunnel books and created
dozens of one-of- a-kind models. Every time the possibilities appear to
be exhausted, a new approach comes to mind. The keepsake for this issue,
Star Box, is a case in point. For a long time a novel approach seemed
elusive. Then, remembering that early peepshows came as loose panels,
a simple viewing box was designed with several transparent panels so each
reader can create an individual view of how it works best. The artist
is also playing with the artist book vs. novelty toy discussion. No matter
how you choose to pair the words, "artistic," novelty,"
book" and "toy," when viewed through the other end of the
viewing box a completely opposite view appears. Is this an artist book
or a novelty toy? The artist isn't saying.
The author is not alone in looking forward to exploring
further the possibilities of tunnel books. "I would choose the tunnel
format again," says Laura Davidson. "I rather liked the playfulness
of it, and frankly sometimes I get too serious. Since this was my first
attempt, I think that there are other possibilities for this format. Another
time I would..."
Rand Huebsch is more specific. "I would definitely
use the format again and am working on a number of pieces. The possibilities
include 1) collapsible toy theaters with attached shadow-puppet marionettes,
2) use of transparent acetate panels with text through which the viewer
looks, 3) collaborative tunnel books (each panel by a different artist).
The bottom line remains: artists will always be
attracted to the tunnel format because it allows them opportunities to
express themselves in a book in a way no other structure permits.
"Of course I'll make more tunnel books, concludes
Tara Bryan, "when I come up with ideas that are suited to the structure.
As Vincent FitzGerald taught me, there are no problems, only solutions!
We'll only know what's left to be done with tunnel books when we get to
the question that needs that answer!"
Thanks
First off, thanks to Carol Barton who has worked tirelessly to reestablish
the tunnel book as an important and legitimate artist book structure.
At the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City where I had a chance of a
lifetime to handle and investigate the many historic peepshows and tunnel
books in their collections—Liz Marcus in Prints & Drawings and
Steve Van Dyke in the library were particularly helpful. Thanks to the
book artists who gave comments, photos of their artwork and support: Maryline
Poole Adams, Tara Bryan, Deborah Phillips Chodoff, Laura Davidson, Mary
Flores, Rand Huebsch and Matthew Liddle. Thanks to Joan Alden who gave
polish to this manuscript, to Ellen Rubin who helped with the research
and to my spouse, Steve Warren. And, of course, this project would not
have been possible without the platform provided by Artists' Books
Reviews. I hope this discussion leads to a greater interest and appreciation
for Tunnel Books. For instruction on making tunnel books, a good source
is Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden (ISBN 0-069-1771-7).
Bibliography
Books
~ Balzer, Richard, Peepshows: A Visual History, 0-8109-6349-3,
Abrams, 1998
~ Olive Cook, Movement in Two Dimensions (A study of the animated
and projected pictures which preceded the invention of cinematography),
Hutchinson of London, No date.
~ Freeman, Ruth and Larry, Cavalcade of Toys, Century House, 1942
~ Haining, Peter, Movable Books, 0-450-03949-8, New English Library,
1979
~ Sayer, Philip and Caroline Freeman, Making Victorian Kinetic Toys,
0-8008-5082-3, Taplinger, 1977
~ Whitton, Blair, Paper Toys of the World, 0-87588-289-7, Hobby
House Press, 1986
Catalog Essays and Magazine Articles
~ Barnes, John, "Precursors of the Cinema," Catalogue of the
Collection, Part I, Barnes Museum of Cinematography, Saint Ives, Cornwall,
England, 1967
~ Huebsch, Rand, "Tunnel Book: A Theatrical Structure," Movable
Stationery, Volume 9, No. 3, August 2001.
~ Robinson, David, "Augsburg Peepshows," Print Quarterly, Vol.
5, No. 2, 1988
~ "F.W.," "Peep-show Prints," by, Bulletin of the
New York Public Library, Vol. 25, No. 6, June 1921. Follow-up article,
"The Peep-Show Again," by F.W. Bulletin of the New York Public
Library, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 1924.
Video
~ The Ancestors of Cinema: Film Before Film by Werner Nekes, Kino
Video, 1986.
© 2002. Article may not be used in any form for any reason without express permission of the author.
This article originally appeared
in the Winter/2002 issue of Artists' Books Reviews.
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