Pandemic, The Making of a Book

In late January, 2020, I had just begun a book binding class, returning to college after more years than I care to admit.  As that class began, I was feverishly finishing up other projects in anticipation of throwing all my effort and attention into book making.  It was a very creative and productive time.  Friends from the Philippines canceled a trip home, and I have to admit I did not fully understand their concern.  I was completely in the dark, wrapped in my own cocoon, as far as the coronavirus and the threat it posed was concerned.  When I left class on March 4, my daughter and I were supposed to meet for a quick visit before I headed home.  Class dismissal was later than usual and when I called her to say I was on my way, we quickly realized neither of us was really up for the visit.  It was late, she had an early flight the next morning, and I had the long drive home.  On top of that it was raining hard.  We easily agreed to put off our visit until her next trip to town - after all, she was flying to Dallas almost every week.  The next week was Spring Break and our next assignment was due on our return.  On the drive home, my only thoughts were for what I had to accomplish to complete that assignment on time.  Within days, Spring Break was been extended, and along with lots of others, the coronavirus had gained my full attention. It slowly began to dawn on me that I was living in historic times and perhaps I should try to document them in real time.  I decided to focus my final class project on just that, and I threw myself into researching what had been going on in the world while I had not been paying attention.  

Wuhan, China, site of the first outbreak, had been locked down on Jan. 23, 2020.   Texas began to re-open in early May.   The book I created chronicles that time frame - 16 weeks, 112 days, during which the lives of people all over the world were turned upside down.  A worldwide pause, supported by ordinary people everywhere at great personal and economic cost, in an attempt to save lives, halt the spread of the novel corona virus, and give our scientists and leaders time to do the work they needed to do to defeat the threat, is unprecedented in my lifetime.  I set out to capture the essence of living through this period. 

This book is based on an accordion spine with pamphlets stitched into each valley fold.  There are 16 pamphlets, one for each week.  Each pamphlet forms a folded spread with pockets.  A chain of 112 people (universal symbols for male and female) march across the spreads inside the pamphlets - one person for each day of the 16 weeks.  The symbols are overprinted with portions of the world map, representing the global nature of the situation.  Each person is reaching for the next while being separated by 6 feet.

The front cover features an image is meant to be me.  Together with the overlaid map of North Texas, the cover image represents the personal and regional impact of the pandemic.

Other symbolic elements of the design include the deckled edges and the use of children’s blocks for hand printing text, including the title. These are meant to convey the rough and improvised nature of life during this period.  The green of the spine and the people motifs is meant to represent Mother Nature in all her terrible glory.  The color red is used prominently and is meant to convey the medical emergency aspect of the situation. The book is designed to be a time capsule.  The content in each pamphlet reflects what was happening on a global, national, local, and personal level during each week of lockdown.  The same three items appear in the left pocket of each pamphlet - a Tally Card, a Headline Card, and a Diary Card.  Tally Cards provide a running count of cases, deaths, and affected countries and territories as each week passes.  Headline Cards note major events, and include an attached copy of the front page of the New York Times for each Thursday (the date of the Wuhan lockdown was a Thursday).   The Tally Cards and Headline Cards establish the public narrative, the Diary Cards the personal story.

The right pockets are filled with objects that add color and context to the given timeframe, juxtaposing my experience, activities, and state of mind with what was going on in the world at large. In the early weeks, the items in the right pocket reflect my interests and concerns during that period of my innocence. After March 5, the items tend to be more externally focused, though they continue to include items of local interest as well as items of national and international scope. In selecting content, my goal was to create a well rounded sense of the timeframe beyond the hard facts of the tallies and headlines.

The book is designed to be read in multiple ways.  It can be read left to right as a traditional book.  In addition, each type of content in the left pocket is easily identified allowing one to pull specific items and read along a chosen vector - pulling Tally Cards and assessing the spread of the disease on a statistical basis, for example.  The book is also designed to be read, at least to some degree, without touching it, as in an object on exhibit.  The accordion spine allows the book to stand fanned out so that the content can be seen and read as a sculptural object might be.

My class is now over, life with the coronavirus continues to be a challenge, and my attention to the topic is likely far from over, but my first serious hand made book stands as a testament to lockdown during the spring of 2020. My grandparents welcomed their first child, my father, into the world on 12/15/1917, just a few months before the flu epidemic of 1918 began. I have no family records or stories to tell me how they coped with the threat or the impact it had on them. I hope that one day my descendants will find this time capsule a fascinating glimpse into their family history.

Back to top.