14 Stations
By Jeffrey W. Morin
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: sailorBOYpress, 2008. Edition of 45.9.75 x 12.25 x 3": 56 pages.Type: Gill Sans as cast by Mackenzie & Harris (San Francisco). Outer papers by Caren Heft and Brian Borchardt, inner papers are Indian Village. 14 reduction linoleum prints with two additional variations for the title and colophon. Metal crown of thorns a with a rosary intertwined and book housed in black leather box with removable lid.
Colophon: "This is a story about a contemporary soldier of Hispanic origin; hence, the name pronunciation is HEY ZEUS and not the one that you were probably using with your internal voice. It is a story that is true on many levels but is also a story crafted from the combined lives of a few people that I have known. No disrespect is intended. This is a work in a line of projects that attempt to take an artistic theme from history and explore a modern application....
"The cover stock is formed by Brian Borchardt to emulate the crown of thorns with the spikes coming from the 1867 Common-School Grammar by Simon Kerl. The illustrations are from reduction linoleum blocks that are printed with a heavy hand to produce a more painterly image. The found inclusions may seem cryptic but are purposeful and like the detritus of one's life."
This book meshes the 14 Stations of the Cross with a story of a modern Jesus (of Hispanic origin and hence pronounced Hey Zeus) who is dying of aids. The mix is so skillfully done – in text and in image supplemented by "inclusions," which include stamps and clip-art type images that are debossed into the prints — that a third layer emerges subsuming both.
A passionate story in many senses, but not a polemic. The tone is one that nurtures tears of understanding.