Shanty Bay Press

CIRCUS: The Artist as Saltimbanque  

Janis Butler and Walter Bachinski are pleased to announce the publication of  CIRCUS: The Artist as Saltimbanque in January of 2011. Many artists, writers, dancers and musicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were drawn to the theme of the circus, often exploring the notion of the artist as performer. Picasso and Cezanne, both of whom have influenced Bachinski, have made great circus paintings. He, himself, has used circus imagery in many of his pastels and the circus has fascinated him ever since he was a little boy.

This book contains a variety of writings from this era loosely based on the idea of the artist and the circus. The authors include Apollinaire, Beaumont, Baudelaire, Miller, Rilke and Twain. The excerpts are different in both style and content: they are funny, surreal, serious and poignant. Together with the illustrations we hope to evoke the richness of the circus experience, where there are three rings of simultaneous activity, with something different happening in each one.






The book measures 37.8 x 26.6 cm and there are 72 pages including blanks. The book is hand-set Deepdene on 200 gsm Arches cover. The book is quarter bound in cloth and Somegami paper and is housed in a cloth-covered slipcase. It has been designed jointly by Janis Butler and Walter Bachinski. There are 4 full page pochoirs and 8 multi-coloured linocuts created and executed by Walter Bachinski. Printing on a Vandercook Universal 1 and binding were done by Janis Butler. There are 55 copies available and the price is $3000.00 USD
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