This is a review for the children’s book The Volume published by Artist Luis Camnitzer’s who sent me a copy of the book in exchange for this review.
Charlie and I was able to use The Volume in our Homeschool Art Class for Reading and Drawing. As we experimented with a Dot and how it can become different things allowing us to create all types of stories. I can’t wait to share the book with my friend who is a actual Art Teacher.
I thought The Volume might be hard for Charlie to read or hard for Charlie to understand but Charlie didn’t have any problem at all. Charlie was even able to share The Volume with my nephew Jason when they were having a Art Lesson here.
One very dark night, a long time ago, there was a big explosion. It was the “Big Bang.” From the “Big Bang,” a dot flew off by itself and began to explore. But all around it was empty space. The dot became lonely, so it split in two, which was fun at first. But then the two dots grew bored of each other, so they began to multiply until they formed something entirely new: a line. The line replicated until it became a surface, and the surface repeated until it became a 3-dimensional shape: the volume. A stray line then pulled off the volume and began to explore shape, color and pattern to create the magic of writing and art.
This whimsical adventure―filled with imaginative text, mind-expanding illustrations and with an impressive double gatefold “to infinity”―takes readers of all ages on a journey through concepts that are the foundation of both art and life.
Author Luis Camnitzer is a celebrated artist known for art that deconstructs accepted frameworks and exposes systems of power. In The Volume, he turns his powers of observation to familiar visual ideas and helps us to see them anew. Filled with beauty and humor, Camnitzer’s first children’s book will enlighten and delight readers of all ages.
Luis Camnitzer (born 1937) is a German-born Uruguayan artist, curator, art critic and academic who was at the forefront of 1960s Conceptual art. He lives and works in Great Neck, New York, and taught at SUNY Old Westbury, where he is currently a professor emeritus.
THE VOLUME (Gregory R. Miller & Co; on-sale August 31, 2021; ISBN: 978-1-941366-28-8) is a celebrated contemporary artist Luis Camnitzer’s first children’s book. A whimsical adventure that takes readers on a journey through concepts that are the foundation of both art and life.
Camnitzer turns his powers of observation to familiar visual ideas and helps us to see them anew. Words and art collide—in Camnitzer’s signature style— to create a book that explores the very existence of humanity and the essence of being human. THE VOLUME helps us understand, in a charming way, how a simple dot on a page can lead to the creation of letters, colors, drawings and infinite possibilities.
MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Luis Camnitzer (born 1937) is a German-born Uruguayan artist, curator, art critic and academic who was at the forefront of 1960s Conceptual art. Camnitzer has had numerous solo museum exhibitions over the course of his career and his work is in important museum collections throughout the world. He lives and works in Great Neck, New York, and taught at SUNY Old Westbury, where he is currently a professor emeritus.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
