Vamp & Tramp: An artist book in three parts, subtitled "Chance Chants," "Timing," and "Logic." In this layered study of language and consciousness, Laxson explores the spoken and printed (or written) aspects of alphabetic cultures and an eventual diminishment of image-making because it diluted the potency of words. The book moves in a nonlinear fashion (even through the more linear sections ). To greatly oversimplify: Laxson begins in prehistory symbolizing the beginning of language as an extension of image-making by a combination rebus/word map. As a concept of numerical ordering develops out of the collective chaos—"We're here in the land of scheming"— the individual (ego) takes the stage. Ultimately, an inherent richness and diversity of awareness is abandoned for one that can be explained in words—"She: We all lost our capacity for awe and wonder . . when we started writing about it. He: But writing glorified monotheism, individualism. It invented money, prose, drama, philosophy..." Throughout the exploration, and in her signature style, Laxson carries on a running commentary—in word, image, and symbol—that circumscribes and questions the primary narrative. Hardly does she advocate a "simpler" way of thinking. Although the titular concepts could be viewed as a linear progression of awareness, rather they are more correctly seen as a simultaneous, multi-leveled picture of a consciousness that is meant to function with all modes intact. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.