Book Artist, Ellen Knudson
Cardinal/Ordinal is an artists book that addresses the language of and the problem with maps. I adore maps. I am endlessly attracted to their visual appeal and to the intricate work that has gone into their graphic complexities, beautiful topographical renderings, and typographical finesse. Yet I am cognizant of the centuries of damage done to the native peoples of this world. Maps are a haunting and relentless record of that pain. In my research for this book, I encountered the pervasive use of ruling class white men's names in places that in reality do not belong to human beings at all. There is also an inordinate amount of hateful and racist place names that are still present on printed maps. My approach to the system of maps is an exploration of the subconscious ways that we experience maps. I use the phrase "A Map is..." to initiate a way of considering our relationships with the ideas of maps and our relationships with one another in the places we call home.
Cardinal/Ordinal is the conceptual cousin to my book Ingress/Egress from 2015. That book uses the phrase "A Book is..." to encourage exploration around the physical, conceptual, and environmental nature of artists books. Cardinal/Ordinal does a similar thing with maps, using the phrase "A Map is...". Cardinal/Ordinal is letterpress printed from Boxcar Press photo-polymer plates on mulberry "teabag" paper. The book is hand-bound in a Japanese stab binding and housed in a four-sided case enclosure. Written, designed, and printed by Ellen Knudson / Crooked Letter Press in Gainesville, Florida. 2025–2026.
$2,200