The Bill of Rights: The First Amendment, 2001
Scope and Contents
Richard Minsky burnt a paperback copy of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie and enclosed it within a reliquary he created using photoshop and an Epson inkjet printer to print on paper. Minsky used classical Islamic designs from "The Grammar of Ornament" by Owen Jones. The interlaced patterns relate to Islamic fundamentalism and the opened design spaces were incorporated by Minsky. Also included are two special stained glass windows on either side of the reliquary, through which the burnt book can be seen. Therefore the work becomes untouchable and is martyred like a saint. The first amendment relates to respecting the rights of religions, freedom of the press, the right of peaceful assembling and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. As Minsky noted on his WEB site, upon publication the author lost the freedoms of Press, Religion, Speech and Assembly in some countries. The Fatwah issued on Rushdie, and the book-burnings made headlines around the world. The fact that an ancient form of censorship exists in the 21st century warranted the inclusion of this book in the series. Not the book-burning kit of the earlier unique work, this is a new book-shaped reliquary containing the burned book. This copy No. I, and was burned on 01/01/01.Ralph Blumenthal reviewed the series for the NY Times on May 19, 2002 in an essay entitled "Artist Depicts the Bill of Rights in a World Out of Joint." "Like art that gives you a reality fix," says Richard Minsky. A reality he treasures is the Bill of Rights, so Mr. Minsky, 55, a Greenwich Village artist and professional bookbinder, has found a way to exemplify the first 10 amendments to the Constitution as artworks. For the First Amendment protecting freedom of expression, for example, he burned a copy of Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" and sealed up the charred volume in an arabesque windowed reliquary.For the Sixth Amendment guaranteeing a speedy and public trial, he glued a black-leather glove daubed with red onto a copy of Jeffrey Toobin's best seller "The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson." ("I used paint, not real blood," Mr. Minsky said, "not that I haven't, or wouldn't.") And for the Eighth Amendment, barring cruel and unusual punishment, he took a book on penology, "Forlorn Hope: The Prison Reform Movement" by Larry E. Sullivan, a professor of criminal justice, rebound it in stripes and chained it to a little jail. "You can take the book out for exercise," Mr. Minsky said, "but then it must go back to its cell."The 10 works are on display at the Louis K. Meisel Gallery at 141 Prince Street in Soho through June 1. Twenty-five editions of the set are being offered at $18,000 each. (The works are viewable online at www.minsky.com.)Mr. Minsky, who has been exhibiting his art for 30 years and founded the nonprofit Center for Book Arts at 626 Broadway, said he thought long and hard about celebrating the amendments, whatever their consequences. "While you got them, enjoy them," he said.For the Second Amendment on the right to bear arms he chose a book about violent hate groups, "Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat" by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Mr. Minsky depicts the author in the bull's-eye of a target.The Third Amendment, barring the forced quartering of soldiers in private homes, was represented by a reimagined nuclear football - an attaché case like the one bearing the codes for unleashing atomic war. It contains a copy of "Seven Days in May" by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, a novel about the nation's top military commander seeking to commandeer the White House, and a DVD of the movie with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. For the Fourth Amendment, against unreasonable search and seizure, Mr. Minsky chose a copy of "Neuromancer," William Gibson's 1984 science-fantasy novel presenting cyberspace as a realm vulnerable to governmental intrusion. He built a slipcase with an imbedded network interface card and hot-stamped it with the text of the amendment in hologram foil.The Fifth Amendment, guaranteeing due process of law for criminal defendants, was exemplified by a novel in the form of an epic poem, "Branches" by Mitch Cullin, about a brutal Texas sheriff who takes the law into his own hands. Mr. Minsky bound the book in khaki, affixed a badge - and peppered the cover with nine-millimeter slugs.For the Seventh Amendment, providing for jury trials in civil cases over $20, he selected "The Litigation Explosion: What Happened When America Unleashed the Lawsuit" by Walter K. Olson, and rebound it in mock $20 bills that replaced the image of President Andrew Jackson with that of James Madison, father of the Bill of Rights.For the Ninth Amendment, reserving all unenumerated rights to the people, Mr. Minsky highlighted "the right to privacy," using a book of that name by Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy and re-illustrating it with photos of Diana, Princess of Wales, including endpapers depicting her fatal car crash.The 10th Amendment, protecting states' rights, stumped Mr. Minsky for some time. "I was wracking my brain, and then, out of nowhere, I thought of November-December 2000." He downloaded the United States Supreme Court decision intervening in the Florida-vote controversy and handing the presidential election to George W. Bush. Mr. Minsky bound the docket in brown leather like a law book with the spine title off-center. "It's a little crooked," he said.The works are available only as a set, Mr. Minsky said. "People ask me, `Can I get one?"' he said. "I say, the government is trying to take them away one by one; you have to have them all."According to an interview of Richard Minsky by Bob Andelman on http://vimeo.com/36516102, only nine copies of this book object were produced even though 25 copies were planned. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.
Dates
- Creation: 2001
Creator
- Minsky, Richard, 1947- (Person)
Extent
1 item (1 book object) : soft cover book (burnt) + object (binders board, paper, epson jet printed, gold leaf, stained glass, polyurethane spray, ultra-violet filter spray) + base (felt) with printed label ; 36 x 24 x 30 cm
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Original Sackner Archive Location
top flat files
Custodial History
The Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, gift of Ruth and Marvin A. Sackner and the Sackner Family Partnership.
Separated Materials
Book has been separated and is currently located on the top shelf of North perimeter.
Materials Specific Details
Published: New York : Richard Minsky. Signed by: Richard Minsky (c.- label bottom). Nationality of creator: American. Copies: 9 copies of 25 total copies. 1 number copy.
Processing Information
Added by: RED; updated by: AMANDA.
Source
- Rushdie, Salman, 1947- (Author, Person)
Genre / Form
Repository Details
Part of the The Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry Repository
125 W. Washington St.
Main Library
Iowa City Iowa 52242 United States
319-335-5921