Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagram Book
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist Mark Pawson, originally published in early 1992. Originally consisting of 36 full-size reproductions of British AC power plug
BS 1363
BS 1363 is a British Standard which specifies the most common type of single-phase AC power plugs and sockets that are used in the United Kingdom. Distinctive characteristics of the system are shutters on the line and neutral socket holes, and a fuse in the plug...
wiring diagrams printed in various colours, the book has become celebrated as an example of English sociological art
Sociological art
Sociological Art is an artistic movement and approach to aesthetics created by Fred Forest, Hervé Fischer and Jean-Paul Thénot in 1974.-From 1967 to 1974:As of 1967 Fred Forest began a series of actions that would foreground the Sociological Art movement...
, and is sometimes referred to as part of the New Folk Archive.
Online gallery Hayvend described it: "the ultra-obsessive die cut plug wiring diagram book [is part of] an avalanche of essential ephemera [collected] by unashamed image junkie Mark Pawson".
'Many of the items [Pawson] produces are made out of his or other people's waste material including comics, flyers, glossy fashion magazines, children's colouring books, braille hymn books, antique paper, wood-chip wallpaper and the odd pornographic magazine. Pawson's most successful pieces are usually made of the most simple materials.'
Things to collect
Pawson started to collect ephemera as a child, starting his collection with Wade animalsWade Ceramics
Wade Ceramics Ltd. are manufacturers of porcelain and earthenware, including animal figures for their Collectors Club, whisky flagons, and a variety of industrial ceramics....
, aimed squarely at unattached pocket money. Early artist's books to continue the theme included Small Plastic Babies, 1987, collecting together his collection of small plastic babies, Eco-Frenzy, 1992, collecting over 150 recycling and ecology symbols and Moustaches, also 1992, in which Pawson documented his clip=on moustaches. The collection of plug wiring diagrams was originally published at the same time as these last two, but unlike the others has been continuously in print since.
"I collect things for my own amusement and decoration. Every so often a group of objects will push their way to the forefront and demand to be taken a bit more seriously." Mark Pawson
Pawson made his first artist's book whilst studying sociology at City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
, 1983-84 and has continued his interest in ephemera since. Pawson has become a central figure of UK mail art, and has also participated widely in the emerging worldwide network of artist's bookfairs. Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagram Book has been exhibited widely, and is in various public collections including MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
and Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
.
The book itself
The first edition of Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagram Book is a small softback book containing 36 photocopied plug wiring diagrams, mostly in colour using different coloured toners in monochrome photocopierPhotocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...
s; 3 full colour photocopies have been tipped in as well. The 'de-luxe version' of the book is sewn together using different coloured threads that mimic electrical wiring, whilst the ordinary edition is stapled. The 'de-luxe' version sold for £3.00, twice the asking price of the stapled version. The cover is a grainy photocopy of the back of a plug diagram with three holes cut into it (where the pins would go). There is a brief essay at the end by Pawson discussing his collection of plugs, and their essential Britishness. The last page lists credits of 'contributing electricians'.
Later editions of the work acquired a piece of electrical tape bound inside the cover, more images of plugs, as well as adverts for other related commodities made by Pawson. The book has been continually reprinted and updated, and is still available. It currently sells for £5.00. The words Die-Cut Plug Wiring Diagram Book only actually appear at the end of the book, in the body of text of Pawson's afterword; the title has instead been acquired, in the main from references to the work on Pawson's website.
Reception
The book has been included in a number of overviews of contemporary English culture, including Creative ReviewCreative Review
Creative Review is a monthly magazine targeted on the commercial arts and design scene. Creative Review has a circulation of around 20,000 readers. In general it focuses content on media originating in United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, showcasing some of the best contemporary...
, Experimental Layout and The New Handmade Graphics. The book is in various public collections including Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, V&A, and MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
.