On Good Work, Vol. 1 ~ Juhani Pallasmaa
On Good Work, Vol. 1 ~ Juhani Pallasmaa
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The Work of Thinking: The Value of Uncertainty is a thought-provoking, inspiring essay on the creative process by Juhani Pallasmaa, the Finnish architect and philosopher, and is the inaugural volume of our new chapbook series, ON GOOD WORK.* It is an invitation to let the journey of making be its own “sweaty and messy business,” unhindered by preconceptions and rigidities, and to freely allow the catalytic processes of curiosity, plasticity, and exploration in one’s work. Looking and listening closely to two poets, Joseph Brodsky and Billy Collins, Pallasmaa expresses a philosophy, a practice, of uncertainty as integral to any creative activity.
“In both writing and drawing, the text and the image need to be emancipated from a pre-conceived sense of purpose, goal and path... Through a growing capacity to tolerate uncertainty, vagueness, lack of definition and precision, momentary illogic and open-mindedness, one gradually learns the skill of cooperating with one’s work, and allowing the work to make its suggestions and take its own unexpected turns and moves. Instead of dictating a thought, the thinking process turns into an act of waiting, listening, collaboration and dialogue.”
Text is hand-set in the Centaur family of metal types, which were cast by Michael & Winifred Bixler (Skaneateles, NY), and in McCullagh No. 2 and other vintage wood types. (Scroll to bottom of page for a video of the hand-typesetting process by Emily Hancock.)
Letterpress printed in two colors with oil-base inks on creamy Zerkall Book mould-made paper.
Hand-sewn with linen thread into jackets of Hahnemuele Bugra paper.
Size: 6.5” x 4.5” and 18 pages.
Edition of 105 numbered books.
Juhani Pallasmaa is an architect, philosopher, designer, writer, and professor in Finland. The Work of Thinking: The Value of Uncertainty is excerpted from his superb book, The Thinking Hand: Existential & Embodied Wisdom in Architecture (John Wiley & Sons, 2009), which explores how the unity of body and mind enables fully-realized expressions of human craftsmanship and artistry.
Like most people, I have felt dogged by uncertainty many times during my life. At best it can feel like thoughtful hesitation, but at worst can become a paralyzing anxiety. The latter, unpleasant kind of uncertainty, can most often surface when I am engaging in some creative work ~ whether writing poems or printing them, playing an instrument or designing a book. My understanding ~ and then my experience ~ of the phenomenon of uncertainty began to shift, however, after I encountered this fascinating essay by Finnish designer Juhani Pallasmaa. Through his thoughtful, inspiring inquiry, I began to regard uncertainty as less plague and more potential; not a problem to be cured, but a valuable experience to become more comfortable with.
— Emily Hancock, proprietor of St Brigid Press
*ON GOOD WORK is an ongoing St Brigid Press chapbook series offering insights from artists of various disciples on the vast subject of human creative work — its process, ethics, aesthetics, and bodied nature. It is inspired by this text from the journal of Henry David Thoreau:
Emily Hancock of St Brigid Press, hand-typesetting the text of “The Work of Thinking: The Value of Uncertainty.”