Does Yellow Run Forever? and When I was Six

From the recommendation of Rich and Yan, I bought Does Yellow Run Forever? by Paul Graham and When I Was Six by Phillip Toledano.

After being initially unsure of what Does Yellow Run Forever? was about, I personally think it explores themes of dreams and aspirations, which is exemplified by the rainbow images; the sleeping pictures symbolise the middle ground between dreaming and reality, and the pawn shop images represent the harsh reality of having to achieve monetary gains through any means.

All of this is demonstrated in its layout of the images: the rainbow images are in the top half of the page, the dreamer photos are in the middle edge of the page, and the pawn shop pictures are in the lower section.

This has really opened my eyes to use interesting layouts that inform the work, rather than using standard layouts.

When looking through When I Was Six- I noticed that the layout and format of the images coincide with their subject matter: the objects found in the box are slightly cut off at the edge, in order to highlight the differences between them and his conceptual imagery that he created (which illustrates his idealised world of trying to escape from his reality when he was younger).

Of note is his use of text, which is littered throughout the book: it varies from short sentences to concise paragraphs that contextualise his project, by explaining how he felt at the time of his sisters death and how this project has allowed him to come to terms with it.

However I think sometimes it can be a bit too obvious. For instance, after explaining the conceptual images, he states that he found a box containing memorabilia belonging to his sister, and he is literally and metaphorically unboxing the contents and himself, as well as how the imagined landscapes saved him as a child; whilst this is good information, it feels like it isn't needed as we can tell what he is doing with the images, and because he is reiterating himself.

Left image: explains conceptual images; right image: contextualises project but it perhaps reiterates what the images successfully show

Overall, these books, whilst different subject wise, have really opened my eyes to think about various layouts and how incorporating text brings all the images together to inform the project.