LEAF, June
June Leaf: Record 1974/1975

The book is above all a working document of Leaf’s thoughts. Drawing is her primary medium, an approach explained in her first written entry of 26 November, 1974: “I don’t usually like to write because I am more satisfied by an action.” Her sketches are exploratory, inquisitive, incomplete.

Leaf is not afraid to express the difficulty of the creative process, her frustration as well as her progress: “I’ve come to a dead stop. Should make a sculpture – don’t want to! Should play the fiddle – don’t want to! Should take a walk – too cold. Where’s the inspiration?” Amidst such uncertainty Leaf’s husband remains a constant source of inspiration: representations of (Robert) Frank are scattered throughout the book, from its opening pages to the last, unpretentious entry of 24 April, 1975: “Blue book ends.”[publisher's note]

Published by Steidl, 2010
Artists' Books / Facsimile & Reprints