In Professor Hinds’ investigation of the Persephone myth, as well as in the artists’ interpretations, I found those same themes: Demeter blames Zeus and Hades for contriving to abduct her daughter Persephone, and the cost of her despair was the death of all the earth’s crops. This motif of punishment extended into Professor Clauss’ book on Medea, who seeks retribution for her husband’s infidelity by murdering their children. Medea herself is ill-treated because, as a foreigner, she lacks the status of a citizen-wife. As in Professor Kamen’s book, the artists’ books in this section take up the many ways that the status of marginalized and minority communities often leads to the denial of social and legal opportunities.

The status of Greeks depicted in vase painting is examined by Professor Topper who questions the assumptions previously made about Greek society based solely on visual cues. The artists linked to her book use visual cues to persuade the viewer to question his or her initial assumptions about the work.

There are three artists’ works that bring these connections full circle for me. In the first chapter are two artists’ books – Relinquo and Roman Fragments that are comprised of photographs of ancient Rome. They depict temples, ruins, monuments and other landmarks that are among the most recognizable – and therefore, remembered – structures in Western culture. In the final chapter, the photographs that illustrate the book Bless This House tell the story of the destruction of a trailer park in Oregon, which no one but those who lived there will remember.

I began this project with the hypothesis that there is a connection not only between the content of the academic and artists’ books but also that there exists a parallel in the formative process of  writer and artist.