I read Theorem in the bathtub. My feet were propped up as I made sure I didn’t get the bottom of the pages wet (a bad habit I have). The book opens with an image of a red cube and an off-white cylinder. “At 13, I fell in love with the tidy solution of geometry,” reads the text. Theorem is not what you may expect from a book of poems. The long text is a push-pull relationship between writer and artist. The reader is immediately thrown into the conversation between two artists, separated by distance. Elizabeth Bradfield‘s text poses life’s questions, while Antonia Contro‘s drawings, watercolors, and collages reference time and travel. In a year so hectic, so traumatic, I found myself pausing for the first time in what felt like months. While holding this book, I think I found the ability to relax.
I ask Contro the same question about their collaboration and friendship. I’m interested in how Theorem came to fruition, how these two artists decided to work together. Contro explains that when she left Bradfield the book, she wanted her to sit and ponder it. “Later that fall, she sent the book back to me—accompanied by text she had written in response to my images. It took my breath away.” Conversations, planning, collaboration, and years of ruminating were put into Theorem. It is a very intentional art project and it’s clear when turning each page.
When reading Theorem, the images complement the text; however, they do not entirely illustrate the story. Contro explains that this was “absolutely critical.” The two artists wanted the text and artwork to stand on their own. There are two versions of Theorem—the fine art edition and the trade edition. In the fine art edition, the text and images are displayed on independent pages, and in the trade edition, the artists worked to see which images and text should be displayed together.
By Elizabeth Bradfield and Antonia Contro. The trade edition is for sale on Poetry Northwest. The fine art edition is for sale on Candor Arts.
