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Critical Analysis
by E. Rettberg
Design Features
typographic: The title text is reprinted three times during the series of grass images.
imagery: First, a progression of grass-oriented images that gradually becomes orange; next, a progression of tiger-related images; and finally, an interspersion of images of mostly celebratory pictures of human beings with pictures of representations of tigers.
graphical: The photographs dominate the page design; the verso tiger images sometimes appear to have been digitally blurred.
turnings: As each page is opened, the reader is attentive to small changes in color; the tiger images, with subtle differences in the placement of the recto's tiger, achieve a kind of flipbook effect.
development: The book begins with images of unadulterated nature, grass, then move to nature influenced by human culture with a lion behind bars, and finally move on to images of human culture; the colors become less prominent as the book goes on and are black-and-white during the human-culture section.
temporal features: The tiger pages can be flip-booked.
General Comments
The various effects achieved in the book depend heavily on the power of digital manipulation. [E. Rettberg]
The Grass is Greener
Agents
Brad Freeman
type: initiating
role:
artist
photographer
designer
digital manipulator
Publication Information
edition type: editioned
publisher: JAB Books & Nexus Press
place: Charlottesville, VA & Atlanta, GA
dates:
publication: 2001-00-00
edition size: unknown
Measurements
horizontal: 5 inches closed
vertical: 7.25 inches closed
Production Information
production means:
offset (local)
binding: adhesive (local)
substrate:
bookBlock: paper Astrolite (alkaline pH & buffered)
media:
ink (local)
other materials: None.
Appearance
general description: A medium-sized paperback volume filled with slightly varying shades of green, orange, and black-and-white photographs.
format: codex (AAT)
cover: Both covers feature an image of grass much like the ones in the bookblock; titles and author/publishing information are printed in a bright yellow.
color: yes Some pages black and white duotones; others, CMYK.
devices: None.
Content
pagination: unpaginated
numbered?: unnumbered
signed?: unsigned
Colophon
THE GRASS IS GREENER was photographed, designed, & digitally manipulated by Brad Freeman. The photographs were taken in Baton Rouge, Morgan City and Tallahassee in 1999 and 1975. Grass images were scanned directly on an HP Scanjet 4C. The digital film was produced through the Institute for Electronic Arts (iea) at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, and imageset on a SelectSet Avantra 25 S provided by AGFA Corporation. Offset printed in duotones and CMYK by BF on Astrolite (alkaline pH & buffered) on the Heidelberg KORD at Nexus Press.