1¢ Life

This page belongs to one of Walasse Ting’s best-known works, his collaborative artist’s book 1¢ Life. Edited by artist Sam Francis, 1¢ Life features 68 of Ting’s poems accompanied by original lithographs by 28 different artists— along with reproductions of advertisements and other bits and bobs—all printed on folded, unbound pages gathered in a custom box. Their loose arrangement allows for amusing juxtapositions like the one laid out here, with Ting’s poems bracketing side-by-side prints by Robert Indiana and Pierre Alechinsky. Ting’s buoyant absurdism shines through in his accounting of the project: “Where can I find a book exciting as Times Square, color bright as neon light, hot as espresso? I face the big pizza and green earthworms, and decide to make a book like a hundred flower garden.”