ISBN Series

(Text Prepared by Howard House gallery Seattle)

During the 2008 presidential election one of the most frequently asked questions to the candidates was, “What texts are you reading to help shape the way you will govern?” This prompted Muram to ask himself the same question and got him started on the ISBN series; a work that considers the nature of the acquisition of information as well as classification and visual aspects of books and learning. The ongoing series consists of large-scale prints where books are depicted as minimal fields of color and shapes, with all of the information removed except the barcode and ISBN number. The pieces function as self-portraits of sorts, featuring a combination of several works that have a personal connection to the artist. Muram writes:

“In many of the images the relationships are made with direct groupings; Kurt Vonnegut and Philip Roth novels are placed together because of their incredible significance in how they have shaped my person. In other instances the groupings might be made by year of publication; ultimately it is the viewer’s responsibility to interpolate the information.”

A book’s ISBN number (International Standard Book Number) is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products published internationally. The ISBN number works like a DNA marker, in which all of the book’s information can be reproduced at any time by deciphering the simple code. A collection of ISBN numbers of books being read by an individual can provide incredible insight into that person’s interests, status, affiliations, and desires, which is one of the reasons it is illegal to record the book purchases of individual under the Fourth Amendment. A library is a place of learning and discovery, but also of complex classification and subtle connections between different strands of knowledge. By focusing on the ISBN, Muram’s work highlights the way the seemingly random collection of digits act as markets for the most complex and varied sets of information. Any book will have the same number of digits, be it War and Peace, a graphic novel, or a cookbook.