Three Constitutions Artist's Book by Russell Maret

This piece is part of the Who is America at 250? Artists' Books on the State of Democracy, an exhibition originating from the San Francisco Center for the Book. On view at Minnesota Center for Book Arts: June 12 - August 16, 2026.

"Three Constitutions is my response to [political events of November 2020-February 2021] and the culture that bred them. The large volume contains the full text of the U.S. Constitution and its twenty-seven amendments. It is set in a typeface that, though difficult to read, is legible once one becomes accustomed to its forms. The texts of the two smaller volumes were arrived at via the two most prevalent modes of constitutional interpretation: algorithmic skewing and selective redaction. The text of the volume titled “Constitution. United States.” was arrived at by feeding the Constitution and amendments through Google Translate; the volume titled “Constitution [redacted]” was set in metal type and subsequently redacted by physically turning key words and phrases over and printing the underside of the type. The resulting text is not the hopeful re-write I would conceive; it is intended to reflect the cynical, ineffectual state of political discourse in the United States." -Russell Maret

11.25" x 15.75" x 2.625"