A SHORTER ENCYCLOPEDIA (2003), six archival inkjet prints 57cm x 76.5cm, is inspired by Madame de Pompadour. Although Pompadour managed to convince Louis XV to support the publication of the Encyclopédie, the knowledge it offered the French did not include answers to questions that Aptekar thought might be central to her life. So he created a kind of appendix for her, adapting the artwork of the original publication to his own personal reveries.
A Shorter Encyclopedia: Folio Title Page, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: A Shorter Encyclopedia, Ken Aptekar, 2003, A series of digital prints inspired by the life of Madame de Pompadour and based upon l’Encyclopedie of Diderot & D’Alembert published in 1751 with the support of Madame de Pompadour
A Shorter Encyclopedia: How Love Endures, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: How Love Endures
A Shorter Encyclopedia: How One Day…, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: How One Day Follows Another
A Shorter Encyclopedia: What keeps everything…, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: What Keeps Everything from Coming Apart
A Shorter Encyclopedia: Why Some Rise…, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: Why Some Rise and Others Fall
A Shorter Encyclopedia: Why the Winds Change, 22-1/2″ x 30″, digital print on Somerset Velvet, Edition of 20
TEXT: Why the Winds Change