Wide White Space, Antwerpen 1970
25 x 18cm, 1pp gallery handout for this group show listing major works by significant artists including a Warhol Flowers work from 1964. There are two works by Beuys in the show - Infilltration homogen dur Konkertflugel from 1966 and Erdtelephon from 1968. Typographic design only. VG+.
...
USA: s.p. (Byars), 1970 48 x 28 cm b/w offset lithographic print on wove paper with a tiny text in the middle of the sheet. A scarce and relatively early print multiple by the romantic minimalist. VG+. Rare. ...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp. The card has a drawing by Gardner on the front of a floating water lily. the text below "A WATERLILY POOL/h'arbour" reminds one of the way the leaves in a water lily can enclose a space of water and also a shelter for small insects or even fish - hence an arbour of sorts. VG+.
...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, Spring 1970
26.5 x 20.4cm, 1pp offset lithographic price list for the Press stapled top left. Mentions new publications - books, cards and prints and the prices. VG+.
...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
12.5x 6.8cm, 2pp. The card is the one of a series that reproduce phrases found in journals and newspapers together to tell a quasi-story or visual poem. Here the headline "SHETLAND BOATS TURN TO SCALLOPS" is on the surface a tale of a change in fishing strategy - but of course it also can be read as a amusing transformation of the boats into shells. This reminds one of the classical tales of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" where every story is of a change in form for a participant (thus the use of 'metamorphoses' in the card's title). Additionally scallop's hollowed out shells have the shapes of boat hulls and Finlay has chosen an outline font for the main text which reflects that hollowing out in some typographic analogue way. As ever, several meanings are to be found in a simple work. Fine.
...
Hannover: Video Galerie Gerry Schum, 1972
15 x 21cm, 2pp. The announcement card issued to promote both the video edition FLIZ-TV released in only 6 copies and the TV exhibition IDENTIFICATIONS which was show on the Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden as well as in the Kunstverein Hannover (as a preview of the tv show). A famous event where Beuys sat in front of a TV with boxing gloves carving a price of blood sausage. A mailed copy - VG+.
...
Little Sparta: Finlay, 13 October 1970.
21 x 18cm, 2pp blue ink on white paper. A handwritten letter to the British Fluxus artist Crozier
Finlay apologises in the letter for not completing the artist's book EXERCISE X which he had promised to Crozier to publish. "It was silly of me to suggest in the first place".
joint:
Hand addressed and rubber stamped envelope which has been neatly torn open.
...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
10.5 x 15cm, 4pp. Artist's postcard with a line drawing by Margot Sandeman of a garden gate and various flowers.
The text inside the card reads:
"ARCADIAN SUNDIALS. All Times on these sundials are Solar Time."
The elements of the garden all cast shadows and can be regarded as measures of solar time. This card is signed "love from Margot (Sandeman)" in ink and is else VG+.
With original unprinted postal envelope.
...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp. Full colour artist's postcard with an image of a sundial made by Finlay for later installation in the High Street in Biggar. The stone work which was inscribed with the text "AZURE & SON. ISLANDS LTD. OCEANS INC." cut in slate by Michael Harvey. This was the first colour postcard that Finlay published under the press' imprint.
Azure of course is the bright blue that is usually associated with the sky on a bright lovely day - and as a result a friend to a sundial that works best on such bright days. The three references to Azure/islands/Oceans - therefore cover the full landscape of sky, land and sea.
The text was originally a poem published in A Sailor's Calendar by the Something Else Press but in a letter to Stephen Bann (Page 80 of Midway, 2014) Finlay explains that the work is to be sited on a traffic island (hence the Island reference) and that "& SON/Ltd./INC." places the work relative to local commerce (Finlay refers to traffic in the sense of both vehicle movement and economic activity). Finlay also notes he is pleased the the work would be in Biggar where his rival/enemy Hugh McDiarmid lived. A sculptural two finger salute.
...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
12.3 x 17cm, 2pp. Blue and black on white artist's postcard with a photograph of a boat with colour annotations (words) to different parts of the vessel. Lemons being a common theme of classical still life paintings, Finlay also often compares boats with lemons. Here by the addition of the colours is able to make the image even more like both a domestic scene and a seascape. VG+.
...
Paris: Musee d’art de la ville de Paris, 1970
56 x 53cm, offset lithographic exhibition poster with images of the two artist's hand holding works. Boltanski's sculpture are homemade weapons (knives). The full exhibition title (not on poster) was "Boltanski et Sarkis : moments 1-2-3". Sarkis had recently been recognised more internationally due to the important travelling conceptual art exhibition "When Attuitudes Become Form" and he wanted to co-ordinate a Parisian show with other similar artists such as Beuys but apparently the budget was not available - as a result she showed only with his friend Boltanski.
Folded for storage but in VG+ condition. Rare....
Little Sparta: Finlay, 17 September 1970.
21 x 18cm, 2pp carbon copy typed letter on white paper which is hand signed at the end in ink. A letter to the British Fluxus artist Crozier discussing the proposed EXERCISE X book which the two artists were collaborating on. The letter discusses in detail the print and typography options for the book, Finlay arguing for subtle, nuance where possible where the letter X in the book changes. Finlay says "I must stress that I don't consider this booklet profound. Everyone knows that nuance exists. On the other hand, I get pleasure from showing how much one can change a thing while scarcely from the spot , as it were. If we make dramatic (moving) differences between the visual representations of the Xs, we will undermine the whole point. If, for instance, "Two" and "Duet" are just noticeably not the same 2 crossing lines, we can rely on the words to complete the distinction, without taking it further than that.
Likewise, "Duck-pond" needn't really try to depict the wakes left by 2 swimming ducks, but just by the merest alteration in the lines, allows the words to modify the image. Though obviously, if we had a blue rectangle on white one, there, and could have the lines white instead of black that would be pleasing."
JOINT:
A further two pages - both 21 x 18cm, 1pp carbon copy typed letter on white paper (recto only and stapled top left) with hand corrections by Finlay explaining the EXERCISE X book in greater detail. An important letter showing the degree to which Finlay's work method relied upon small considerations and great attention to detail. The book was planned to have a free style drawn X on each right hand page along with two hand drawn words of text. "The text is , in every case, a verbal modification of an X, and the rendering of then X's by the artist/calligrapher should echo this modification to some degree." The book in essence is how the smallest of changes can alter the meaning of something as much as possible.
Finlay lists the various texts which will alter the X's - The Windmill, The Stitch, The Net, The Kiss, The Cancellation, The Duck-Pond, The Ten, The Two, The Duet. All being able to be represented by an X - some more obviously than others (for instance, the Duck Pond is two crossing wakes from swimming ducks).
Finlay mentions the use of colour but accepts that is down to expense but he would ideally like a brown X at The Net and a red one at The Cancellation and a blue one at the Duck-Pond etc. "The actual details of presentation will have to be decided in terms of the cost." "Probably a very small format would be nicest."
JOINT:
A hand addressed mailed envelope to Crozier in Finlay's hand. Carefully opened.
...