Banned Book I: Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has been banned for obscenity, going against Christianity, fear of technology, immorality. As an educator and an artist, I am raising awareness to encourage people to read banned and challenged books. This mixed media work contains every page of Frankenstein, which is in the public domain. (No copyright infringement occurred). There are stitches, as Frankenstein's monster had, to symbolize fixing a broken world. There is a rag across the top of the piece representing the ragged clothing and hair of the monster, human-like, yet primitive. Fire embellishes the shape of a human heart where the pages of the book have been burned. This symbolism is two fold: It is in reference to book burning, and to the "death" of Frankenstein's monster by fire. Two bolts, not shown, are attached to the sides which are decorated with more book pages, the title page on top of the work. Mary Shelley was arguably the first science fiction author, as she wrote Frankenstein in 1816. H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury were not born yet. This book should be read and celebrated as an incredible achievement by Shelley, only 18 when she wrote Frankenstein. Her novel paved the way for other women authors.