Studio Visit

Alexis Arnold

Today we welcome San Francisco-based artist Alexis Arnold to the Tappan artist roster. We first fell in love with her intricate, beautiful crystallized sculptures and learning about her process and inspiration to pursue and continue this series has only made us love them more. Read our interview with her below:

Q.

Tell us a little bit about this series on Tappan?

A.

My Crystallized Book series began in 2011 in response to the vulnerability of printed media and bookstores, along with repeatedly finding boxes of discarded books. Books hold a great significance as objects, stories, teachings, memories, and more, so they were ripe for investigation with the process of crystal growth I’d been exploring on different objects.



My intent with the series is to contrast the materiality versus the text or content of the book. The crystals remove the text and solidify the books into aesthetic, non-functional objects. I manipulate the books with my hands, water, and salt to transform them into artifacts or geologic specimens imbued with the history of time, use, and memory.



The crystals and book shapes spark a sense of wonder akin to a great piece of literature, like some of the titles I use, but certainly not all, such as an obsolete software manual or old phone book. It’s been nice to watch an apparent return to the cultural value of printed media while working on the series over the last 6 years.

Q.

Where do you source your materials? How do you decide which book is just right for the piece? Once you do decide, can you tell us about the crystallizing process?

A.

The books I have crystallized have come from the sidewalk, my own collection, my husband’s collection, given to me, or purchased (mostly used) if I want specific titles.

I have crystallized titles personal to me or others, obsolete books like out-of-date encyclopedias, books that play upon the project (such as the Classics to Grow On series edition of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), classic literature, children’s books, books I like for how they look or simply because I ended up with them for free. For a recent two-person exhibition with Esther Traugot at Napa Valley Museum, all the titles I used were directly related to both the location and Traugot’s work.



To grow the crystals directly on the books, I start by creating a super-saturated solution of borax (sodium tetraborate) in boiling water. When the water boils, its molecules expand, allowing more Borax in. I submerge the book (or other object) in the hot, saturated solution and carefully manipulate the book to my liking before and during the process. As the saturated water cools, the molecules shrink and any excess Borax crystallizes. Once the solution has completely cooled and the crystals have grown on the submerged book, I drain the solution and dry the fragile, waterlogged work without disturbing its shape. When completely dry, the books hold their new, rigid shapes.

Q.

Did you start by crystallizing smaller objects?

A.

I ended up experimenting with crystal growth in my work after I found crystals growing on the concrete floor of my studio as a result of oxidizing metal with salt, soda ash, and vinegar. The first crystallized objects I made were concrete casts and antique tools related to a specific project at the time.



Other sculptures and installations have included a range of crystallized objects, including bicycle wheels, bundt pans and other used kitchenware, a cactus, insects, eggshells, a wig, crab and mussel shells, copper mesh, steel wool, wood, and more. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, I began crystallizing books as most of the objects I had been using were hard and I was interested in seeing the effect of the crystal growth on porous, malleable objects. The malleability and transformation of soft paper into rigid sculptures, along with the cultural significance of the object, provided the material combination I found most successful out of all the objects I had crystallized.



I’ve recently explored using crystal growth with window screen and other mesh fabric. The crystals provide material contrast and structure for sculptures and installations that explore optically-active moire patterns.

Q.

Describe your work in three words.

A.

Material, process, transformation