Tree of Codes

Tree of Codes
Author Jonathan Safran Foer
Illustrator Sara De Bondt
Cover artist Jon Gray
Language English
Genre Fiction
Published London
Publisher Visual Editions
Publication date
 November 2010
Media type Paperback
Pages 139
Awards D&AD In Book Award, Book Design, 2011
ISBN 9780956569219
OCLC 676728609
Preceded by Eating Animals
Followed by Escape from Children's Hospital

Tree of Codes is an artwork, in the form of a book, created by Jonathan Safran Foer, and published in 2010. To create the book, Foer took Bruno Schulz's book The Street of Crocodiles and cut out the majority of the words. The publisher, Visual Editions, describes it as a "sculptural object."[1] Foer himself explains the writing process as follows: "I took my favorite book, Bruno Schulz’s Street of Crocodiles, and by removing words carved out a new story".[1]

Due to the physical difficulties involved in printing a book where most of the words have been cut out, Foer stated that he had to contact several different publishers before finding one who was willing to print it.[2] The only printing office who could do the job was die Keure, from Belgium. He also said that due to the way the book had to be bound, it could not be produced in a hardcover edition.[2]

Reception

The Times described it as "a true work of art."[3] Heather Wagner at Vanity Fair called it "a quietly stunning work of art."[2] Michael Faber, at The Guardian, said that while Foer showed a strong sense of poetry, the book was less successful as a work of fiction.[4]

Adaptations

The book is being adapted into a ballet by choreographer Wayne McGregor, composer Jamie xx, and visual artist Olafur Eliasson. It will receive its US premiere at the Park Avenue Armory in September 2015,[5] after first being shown in the UK as part of the Manchester International Festival in July 2015, for which it was commissioned.[6]

Australian composer Liza Lim is also adapting the book into an opera. The joint production by Cologne Opera and Hellerau will feature ensemble musikFabrik.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Heller, Steven (24 November 2010). "Jonathan Safran Foer's Book as Art Object". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Wagner, Heather (10 November 2010). "Jonathan Safran Foer Talks Tree of Codes and Conceptual Art". VF Daily, an online magazine from Vanity Fair. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Erica Wagner. "VE2: Tree of Codes". The Times. Visual Editions. Retrieved 2011-12-02. A true work of art
  4. ↑ Faber, Michel (18 December 2010). "Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "New Ballet Tree of Codes to Make U.S. Premiere at Park Avenue Armory This Fall", Broadway World, May 28, 2015. Accessed: May 30, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Tree of Codes: A Contemporary Ballet", Manchester International Festival.
  7. ↑ musikFabrik, "The Ecstasy of Making Art". April 8, 2015.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.