The Meaning of Life (2018)

The Meaning of Life is an accordion book reproducing at full scale a portion of a Turkish rug with found scraps of paper. The rug in question, from the artist’s collection, is Anatolian and was knotted in the first third of the twentieth century. The base paper is Mohawk Superfine; the colored scraps are found papers, primarily advertising materials from New York and Vermont.

The title derives from William Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage:

“ . . . You were asking just now what was the meaning of life. Go and look at those Persian carpets, and one of these days the answer will come to you.”

“You are cryptic,” said Philip.

“I am drunk,” answered Cronshaw.

The Meaning of Life
by Jane Knoll
Bennington, Vermont: Mrkgnao Press, November 2018.
10 pages, 13.7 cm × 19.1 cm × 0.7 cm closed; expands to 159.4 cm
Paper, board, cloth
Unique