Grand Musical Staircase

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Introduction

Extended accordion-like view of "Ode to a Grand Staircase (For Four Hands)" by Julie Chen and Barbara Tetenbaum

Julie Chen and Barbara Tetenbaum’s “Ode to a Grand Staircase (For Four Hands)” is an artist’s book inspired by the work of Erik Satie, a French composer whose work influenced early twentieth-century music. [1] This artist’s book was published in 2001 by the Flying Fish Press (Berkeley, CA) via Julie Chen [2] and the Triangular Press (Portland, Oregon) via Barbara Tetenbaum. [3] The artists’ book is a multi-layered visual narrative inspired by Erik Satie’s music, specifically “Marche du Grand Escalier” (March of the Grand Staircase), composed in 1914. The book can be rearranged into an accordion-like shape representing a grand staircase. Colorful images and cut-outs comprise the book’s pages, as well as text taken from “Marche du Grand Escalier” that Satie included in his scores. [4] Penn Libraries acquired copy number 69 of this artists’ book via the Amy Comegys Memorial Fund and the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Fund for the Arts of the Contemporary Book Collections. [4] The book is located in the Kislak Center for Special Collections at the University of Pennsylvania.

About the Authors

Julie Chen

Julie Chen is a book artist and educator from California who established the Flying Fish Press to publish artist’s books in smaller editions, which are displayed in museums and libraries all around the world, including in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. [5]


Barbara Tetenbaum

Genre

Artists’ Books

Inspiration from Erik Satie

References

  1. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Erik Satie". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Apr. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-Satie. Accessed 11 May 2024.
  2. Chen, Julie. Flying Fish Press Website. Flying Fish Press, 2023, Berkeley, CA, https://flyingfishpress.com/. Accessed 11 May 2024.
  3. Tetenbaum, Barbara. “Triangular Press ~ Oregon.” Vamp & Tramp, Booksellers, LLC, 13 July 2022, http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/t/triangular.html. Accessed 11 May 2024.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Chen, Julie, Erik Satie, and Barbara Tetenbaum. Ode to a Grand Staircase (for Four Hands). Berkeley, Calif.: Flying Fish Press , 2001.
  5. “Julie Chen.” National Museum of Women in the Arts, https://nmwa.org/art/artists/julie-chen/. Accessed 11 May 2024.