Giving Fear a Proper Name: Detroit
Giving Fear a Proper Name: Detroit (1980-85)
5 "x 5" x 2", Limited edition of 15
Letterpress, Silver-prints, Hand-made Paper
Giving Fear a Proper Name: Detroit, draws on Grant's challenging experience of living alone in inner-city Detroit, a once grand city that was in severe decline during the two years the artist was there. A dense, multilayered edition, the book pairs text and images that reflect her recollections, nightmares, fears, and many challenges of being in Detroit during that period of her life.
The pages on the left side contain text with titles of phobias, a brief description of each phobia and phrases taken from the artist's journal. Incomplete and seemingly disparate, Grant designs these phrases to mimic the fragmented quality of mind chatter. The definitions of the phobias were meticulously researched and have a scientific underpinning.
Opposite pages contain multi-layered collages constructed of roughly printed and torn photos of the artist with various materials glued, pinned and hand-sewn in place. The gelatin silver-print photographs depicting different parts of the body are pierced, cut and violated.
Giving Fear a Proper Name: Detroit consists of letterpress texts and photographs on handmade paper. The integration of miniature objects such as barbed wire, teeth, bits of hair and fragments of information reflect and suggest particular incidents and emotional states.
The book is bound in pink vinyl, a material obtained from a Cadillac automobile factory in Detroit. A miniature revolver dangling from a pink ribbon serves as a bookmark. The book itself is housed in a Plexiglas box. The thick plastic material alludes to the bulletproof glass barriers that separate cashiers from customers in inner city stores.
Due to the multi-layered pages and the inclusion of so many small objects on the collages, the book is designed to not close tightly. Its contents appear to be on the verge of spilling out. The implied lack of control becomes a metaphor for the emotional impact of living in an unpredictable and violent urban environment.