X-plosion
bowling ball, springs, rubber hoses
20 x 20 x 8 in.
1992
A bowling ball is stippled with miniature springs that resemble a lethal land mine. A black rubber tube connects the ball to the tail of the cylindrical book of pages folded in half towards the spine; the altered book looks like an oversized Rolodex. A pen nib protrudes from the opposite center of the pleated pages. The original book, Xman, by Michael Brodsky, (1992) has very few indented paragraphs and appears to be a continuous and endless line of printed text. The life threatening implication of reading or touching the altered book could explode into the surrounding area leaving its indelible mark of shattered black letters, broken phrases and tattered pages.