The broader conceptual nature positions the book as an art object. The cover design focuses on the joint-headed figure, with its overtones of surrealist influence and its physical representation of the book’s title. It is also a pun of sorts on the notion that two heads are better than one. In this instant, the two heads join as one and become less effective than if they were individuals.
The title text, broken into fragments, illustrates and conflates the unnamed narrator's struggle while depicting the novel’s fragmented nature. Obscured and partially hidden is a series of cut-up lines from the book. They function, in part, as the joint-headed figure’s thoughts.
Instead of the traditional synopsis, the back cover presents a scenario. Taking inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard, the scenario is a poetic outline meant to evoke the feel and nature of the work in condensed form. It is a unique writing experience rather than an obligatory statement.
To fully subvert the conventions of book design, the critical real estate of the book’s spine has been reimagined. A book isn’t identified by its title or author. Instead, it is identified by its ISBN. That number is placed boldly along the spine, with only a hint at the beginning and end of the book’s title.
On the first page of the book is a plaque of sorts that identifies the book as DIRECTIONS IN LITERATURE 04, and that “Each book is an art project.” Directions in literature represents the experimental nature of my books. It is to formulate the novel and to create literature in new forms.
Books have their own sounds. Word combinations, sentence structures, and the story evoke a unique sound experience for the reader. To augment those unique sounds, Limping to an Intellectual Impasse has a curated soundtrack. That soundtrack is Persepolis by Iannis Xenakis.
Finally, the cover takes on a new form through augmented reality. The cover’s two-dimensional nature becomes a work of digital art through the Artivive app. Download the free app, then open it and point it at the cover.
The conceptual nature of the project is to expand how the audience interacts with and understands the novel, the art, and the project. For the artist, it is to see in new ways and create in new forms. Each book has the potential to expand with new life as it explores new forms of expression and representation.
