Aurora Teardrops
Harold Budd with a foreword by David Sylvian
American composer & musician Harold Budd started writing the 59 poems in this new collection during his first collaboration with artist Jane Maru, a collection of her short films and his accompanying scores, Jane 1–11. It was, however, her batik paintings on silk that he first encountered, and it is these batiks that form the vibrant visual core for Aurora Teardrops.
Interleaved throughout the book are six of Jane Maru’s batik paintings, reproduced as folios in full color on traditional drafting vellum, a semi-transparent sheet that creates a visual effect similar to the original works on silk. Being semi-transparent, these prints both interrupt and overlay Harold’s poems, creating an interaction between the two artists similar to their live musical performances of the Aurora Teardrops poems. Each of the Deluxe copies also includes, as a frontis, an original watercolor painting by Jane.
The book also includes a handful of Harold’s arabesque drawings interspersed, printed in bronze, and a facsimile of his score for “It’s Steeper Near the Roses,” a short chamber composition dedicated to David Sylvian from Harold’s 2006 album Avalon Sutra.
Set in Pablo Impallari’s digital version of Cancellaresca Bastarda, with Umbra for titles. Edition of 76 copies issued in two states (see below). 8vo, 56 pp. 2016
Aurora Teardrops was issued in Deluxe and Collector’s editions.
The 26 Deluxe copies (lettered A-Z, plus 8 numbered copies for the contributors) were printed on dampened T.H. Saunders wove paper. Each copy includes as a frontis an original watercolor by Jane Maru on painted on Royal Watercolour Society handmade paper. The book was sewn on tapes and cased-in: long-fibered handmade Japanese paper was used for the spine and endpapers, attached to thin transparent acrylic boards through which two additional (front & back) prints of Jane’s batiks are displayed – essentially the flyleaves become the case’s vibrant cover. Issued in a paper-covered slipcase. The Deluxe copies are signed by Harold Budd, Jane Maru & David Sylvian.
The 50 Collector’s copies (no hors de commerce copies) were printed from the same setting as the Deluxe edition, on dampened Golden Hind laid paper. These copies were sewn and cased in painted paper over boards; each copy is unique, the paper being stained with metallic gold and bronze paints. The Collector’s copies are signed by Harold Budd and Jane Maru.