5 copies of the book at varying points in the conversation

Way before IPhones and texting, done as a layout challenge to produce a quickly printable book, 2BUNI puts forward grouped letters and numbers to be translated into a succession of statements and questions.

A general way of approaching the book is as a rebus puzzle about relationships.

After the title page, the book begins with the declarative statement I M, or “I am.”

Then the reader can choose which conversational format fits: to keep with the impersonal voice of the narrator, and be spoken to, or become their own voice speaking to another person.

The book proceeds with more said about the self, then begins into statements with regard to the other. Questions are posed to discern whether there is a basis for the one-on-one exchange to continue. If questions are answered in the negative, it can be presumed that the relationship will not be sustainable. Yet at the very end, there is a baseline affirmation that allows some form of interaction to carry on.

One side of the layout prepared for photocopying

A key for decoding is as follows:

2B= To Be, UNI=You and I, I M= I am,  S= Yes, UMBN= Human Being, BUT= Beauty, XLN=Excellent, IF= I Have, BZ=Busy, XTC=Ecstasy, 4U=For You, RU/UR=Are You/You Are, D1=The One, F=If or Have, 2F=To Have, NRG=Energy

Pages, in order:

I M. S, I M. I M A UMBN. I M A BUT. I M XLN. I M N XLN UMBN. IF 2B BZ 2B N XTC. I M BZ. I M 2 BZ. I M 2 BZ 4U. RU BZ? RU D1? UR D1. UR D1 F UR BZ. F UR BZ (N XTC) UR D1. IF 2B BZ 2B A UMBN. 2B A UMBN N XTC U F 2 F NRG. F UNI F NRG UNI R N XTC. S, UNI F NRG.

To check your results, the whole text of the book is revealed at the end of this blog.

2BUNI was inspired by the clever and often hilarious children’s books CDB and CDC by William Steig.  Most often described as “puzzle books”, the continued popularity of CDB, published by Simon & Schuster in 1968, was followed up by the Macmillan Publishers release of CDC in 1984. Both books contained single page situations described by letters, numbers, and punctuation with cartoon drawings by Mr. Steig. Originally black and white, he painted the drawings and added an answer key for the decades later re-release of both books.

My copies:

Publishing info:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/CDB!/William-Steig/9780689857065

To better understand the rebus in language puzzles, see:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebus

Publishing notes:

I constructed the layout on black textured paper using adhesive text that I enhanced with white acrylic paint. After photocopying, sections were cut and stapled together into a blank, unpainted cover of the black paper, brush-coated with matte medium. Books were signed as MJ Connors and most often dated with the years 1988-93 when the open edition was run. For a lucky handful of collectors they also got a reused paper bag tailored to house 2BUNI, with a hand-stamped label announcing “I own an MJC original.”

Whole text of 2BUNI revealed:

I am. Yes, I am. I am a human being. I am a beauty. I am excellent. I am an excellent human being. I have to be busy to be in ecstasy. I am busy. I am too busy. I am too busy for you. Are you busy? Are you the one? You are the one. You are the one if you are busy. If you are busy in ecstasy, you are the one. I have to be busy to be a human being. To be a human being in ecstasy you have to have energy. If you and I have energy [ , ] you and I are in ecstasy.

Yes, you and I have energy.

2BUNI is available at $10 per copy, plus shipping, through contacting me at MJCONNORSDAVISON.COM and at https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/4963/

Quick Bio: MJCD is an internationally collected mixed media artist specializing in collage.