the.gravity's.rainbow.project

In light of the sequential nature of my final art project, my friend Pidge gave me an epic-sized graphic narrative work by an artist named Zak Smith.  The title, *ahem* Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow (phew!), well enough explains the project.  The 760 illustrate pages of the book are rendered in parallel to each of the 760 pages of Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow, a fascinating project on its own account. 

I briefly fingered through the first 40 out of 760 pages of illustrations, all strange and wonderful and at times so effortlessly fluctuating between the familiar and the abstract.  I had to, unfortunately, restrain myself.  I have not yet read Gravity's Rainbow,  and I sensed that it was important that I should read it  before I became to attached to the images in the book.  Before I put Smith's work to rest, I showed  the first 40 illustrations to Chico.  He marveled at them, and  immediately  thought of incorporating  them into some sort of  piece he could  hang in his house.  He determined he would buy a copy of Smith's work himself, and  this afternoon we headed to Barnes and Noble to  each pick up a copy of  Thomas Pynchon's work.

So now we are on a mission.  We're reading Gravity's Rainbow and then exploring Zach Smith's illustrations.  I think it'll change the pace of things around here.  More page flipping, less button pushing, or something to that extent.  But I'm looking forward to it.  Reading Adventures!  Horray!