When American writer, Valerie Solanas, shot and nearly killed pop superstar Andy Warhol in 1968, it immediately and irrevocably altered the way her radical feminist text, SCUM Manifesto, was interpreted. This publication titled, THIS IS NOT THE TITLE, illustrates Solanas’s attempt to reclaim authorship of her text after the shooting.
This publication focuses on three editions of SCUM Manifesto; one published before the shooting, one directly after without her permission, and a third republished a decade later by Solanas as the correct edition. This publication juxtaposes the paratextual* elements of each edition, highlighting how the reading and interpretation of Solanas's text differs depending on which edition is being read.
*A book can be divided into two parts - the primary text and the paratext. The primary text is what the author has written and the paratext is the elements that surround and present the primary text, such as the title or preface.
Each spread in the publication is divided into two parts: a red insert comparing a paratextual element from each edition, such as the title, and marginalia which provides context and commentary surrounding the element. This structure allows the publication to critique the different treatments of SCUM Manifesto. At the same time, it also critiques the format of the book itself through its utilisation of its own paratextual devices such as its size and typography.
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This project was produced in the Visual Communication Honours degree at the University of Technology, Sydney. Special thanks to the support of Zoe Sadokierski, Monica Monin, Kate Sweetapple, Jacquie Lorber-Kasunic and Sara Oscar. Special mention to my peers Emma, Emily, Crystal, Clarice and Doris. This project would not have been possible without the generosity and resources of the Andy Warhol Museum and the New York Public Library.
