Mikhail Karasik’s homage to manhole covers and the Bible, Genesis

$1,500.00

(M.K. Publishers) Genesis. Artist’s book by Mikhail Karasik. St. Petersburg. 2006. 17” in diameter. Seven round color lithographs of manhole covers by Mikhail Karasik; on the verso is text consisting of the first three chapters of Genesis in three colors to form a palimpsest pattern in four languages. Lithographic title on front and back of aluminum covers, orange verso. Bound with one metal screw. Orange box with loose lid; round pattern on the lid and nine images of manhole covers on the inside and bottom of the box. In an 18.25” x 18.25” dropback card box with grey and orange trim and copy of title page lithograph in orange on top. One in an edition of 15 numbered copies, signed and dated on the inside back cover. Fine.

“Seven days of creation, seven sheets of paper, seven iron St. Petersburg manhole covers. In seven days the Lord created man and everything on the earth. Seven old iron manhole covers, seven tables on which is written the text of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. Manhole covers are artifacts of city life, a hidden land beneath them … There is land - there is the underground, but … [they] never meet. … From my childhood they frightened me.

“Manhole covers, like the old pages of a book scattered across a vast city. I wander through the streets and read their metallic words. Seven manhole covers, seven signs of the elements …” Karasik, New Books 2004-2006.