#apache junction

[nocternalrandomness]

Apache Junction at dusk

[uwmspeccoll]

Beach Read 🏖️ ...but Make it Weird

This week’s pick, Pistolero, was created by book artist Louise Levergneux and published in Apache Junction, Arizona, in 2023 in an edition of 8 copies signed by the artist. Levergneux’s work often plays with material, structure, and language, and this one doesn’t even try to be subtle.

It begins with a West Coast road trip through Washington, Oregon, and California, collecting sand along the way. Using an accordion structure that echoes the classic travel souvenir, the book can be flipped through page by page or fully extended into one long, panoramic spread.

So far, so innocent.

But then we get to the sand-filled vials. Originally meant to neatly contain the collection, their shape suggested something a little more…expressive. Rather than pulling out, Levergneux leans all the way in, building a narrative that plays with scale, shape, and just how much meaning you can pack into a small container.

The result? A book that’s equal parts travelogue, material experiment, and visual double entendre, proving that sometimes meaning is all about perspective (and maybe a well-placed curve).

Some artists push boundaries. This one packs them in sand and puts them on full display.

-Melissa (trying very hard to keep this academic), Distinctive Collections Library Assistant

-View more posts on Artist's Books

[bitchenfries]

[thelostcanyon]

Morning near the Superstition Mountains outside Apache Junction, Pinal County, Arizona.

[bonerdonorxxx44]

Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction, Arizona

Photo by: Kevin Antol

[earthglance]

Apache Junction, Arizona

[littlefeather-wolf]

The Apache Indian tribes called this desolate, unforgiving landscape home and considered Superstition Mountain to be sacred ground as it was the home of their "Thunder God" ... The Apaches are not known for their stories about Superstition Mountain ... Few Apaches have actually ever entered the area ... It was the Yavapai that had villages within the area we call the Superstition Wilderness today ... It was the Yavapais that were pursued by the Army and had their camps destroyed in the area ... The Superstition Mountains are known for the "Lost Dutchman Gold Mine" superstition ... In 1864, the first mention of gold in the area was made ... Some say as many as 600 people have died searching for the gold, and many have gone missing ... Apache Junction ... Apache Junction Chamber of CommerceIn legend, according to local storytellers, the mountains are known as "Wee-kit-sour-ah" meaning "the rocks standing up" to the Apache ... It is said Superstition Mountain and all mountains are believed to be a kind of purgatory where all Apaches must pass before or after death ...

[details2decern]

This happens twice a year… the shadow of a cougar on the side of the Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction, AZ

Source: bignaz8