Book Pages

About Altered Pages:

Gray’s Anatomy is a comprehensive classic textbook written by Dr. Henry Gray over a century ago and revised many times. Most physicians have a copy of it still today as the information and the illustrations remain useful, beautiful and remarkably accurate. I’ve always loved it and have had this copy my entire adult life.

Altered Pages began in 2014 when I found I was away from my home studio frequently and needed something reasonably portable to work on. Inexplicably I chose Gray’s Anatomy to work in with the thought of altering some pages for the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art’s Altered Book Show. As time progressed, I found I needed to tear out many pages as the book is heavy and if I wanted to work on it, on a plane, in a hospital waiting room or in a relative’s guest bedroom, it was necessary to be able to retrieve pages easily and simply. I didn’t work on it everyday as large “tapestry” pencil drawings and oil paintings were the focus when I returned to the comfort of my home studio. The work in Gray’s Anatomy took hold, however, and the book has become my daily journal, and, a way of coping through many a dark day and night, especially of late during the pandemic with the need to stay home.

Gloria Matuszewski
July 5, 2020