Pulcinella in Hades

Description:	Pulcinella in Hades is a descent into Hades in the form of an eight foot tall accordion book. The borders of Pulcinella in Hades contains marginalia texts by historical authors, written in longhand by 17 contributors. The text refers to the underworld from different writings. Pulcinella from the Commedia dellArte is here a stand in for Orpheus or Christ in a comic harrowing of hell…The idea of a comedy in Hades hit me when I heard an excerpt from the comic opera Orpheus in the Underworld. Why an underworld journey should be treated as a comedy can perhaps best be explained by the tremendous amount of literature to back up the view that Hell is a merry place. Comic journeys to Hell and Hades are long standing traditions. Comedy goes to Hell….Seventeen people were asked to write in their own hand the literary marginalia selected to accompany the text. Many complained that their handwriting is terrible. Many were correct. --Artist statement, Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website (accessed June 20, 2018)In the Middle Ages written texts came in the form of manuscripts, and marginalia were an important component of the process of textual transmission. It was accepted that readers would add comments, notes and even drawings to illustrate and comment on what they were reading. In some cases, the marginalia in medieval manuscripts overwhelm the main text….Perhaps the greatest instance of marginalia gone mad is the Renaissance French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who published an edition of his famous Essays in 1580, then went back and added comments and reflections, which he integrated into the main body of his text when he republished the book in 1588. A later edition repeated the same process. So, for Montaigne we can say that his book was literally made up out of its own marginalia.… In most early printed books there were few indexes, so marginal notes were often printed right in the text which alluded to certain sources or outlined in abbreviated form what the main text was saying. Indeed, no reader of early books can fail to be struck by the delightful marginal ciphers, comments, and drawn hands with pointing fingers used to call attention to certain important passages. Through the study of marginalia we can draw closest to the thoughts of readers from earlier ages – perhaps even more than through the study of the books themselves.… The margins are the place where the reader speaks back to the text, where alternative ways of thinking spring up around the language of official knowledge.--Artists marginal note on Marginalia, Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website (accesssed June 20, 2018)
Origin:	2006
Created By:	Hazelwood, Art
Publisher:	Sonoma, California: Eastside Editions, 2006
Source:	http://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BookArts/id/2462
Collection:	Herron Library Fine Press and Book Arts Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright
Subjects:	Hazelwood, Art. Artists books--United States--Specimens. Commedia dellarte. Comedy. Marginalia. Hell in art. vertical accordion fold sugar lift and spit-bite aquatint etchings printed on Hahnemühle Copperplate paper, booklet with linocut print covers

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