Open Book(s): pAraDoOx of In Tolerance

Open Book(s): pAraDoOx of In Tolerance by John J. O’Connor

Presented by Monira Foundation and Mana Contemporary

pAraDoOx of In Tolerance, a conceptual and formally intricate artist book by John J. O’Connor.

Through an evolving word morph between TOLERANCE and INTOLERANCE, this accordion-style book transforms language into a site of ideological performance. Gradually shifting one word into the other through sequential letter changes, color transitions, and structural inversions, O’Connor visually enacts the Paradox of Tolerance—the idea that unchecked tolerance of intolerance can ultimately destroy the foundation of a tolerant society. The book loops endlessly, cycling through forms and meanings, refusing resolution and embodying contradiction.

pAraDoOx of In Tolerance is featured in Monira Foundation’s Open Book program, which celebrates the book as a powerful tool for storytelling, connection, and community-building. Open Book highlights artists working in both traditional and experimental forms who use the book as a vessel to share expansive ideas and deeply personal narratives.

About the Artist:
John J. O’Connor is a New York-based visual artist whose drawing-based practice explores systems of language, belief, and transformation. He is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow and the recipient of grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New Museum. O’Connor is co-chair of the Visual Arts program at Sarah Lawrence College and a member of the experimental art and technology collective NonCoreProjector.

Learn more about the artist: https://www.johnjoconnor.net/

This program is made possible in part by public funds from the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund and by a generous grant from the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.