Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
9.8 x 10.1cm, 4pp card with a painting by Gary Hincks of a wheel barrow full of wood. A visual poem.
Interestingly and perhaps the point of the card - the word bouquet comes from the Old French "bosquet" equivalent to bosc wood. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
34.2 x 29.2cm, green on white paper offset lithograph in a folder with a drawing by Annika Sandell of the proposal which is a version of a textual work LITTLE FIELDS LONG HORIZONS that Finlay has utilised in several types of works including artist's books and early prints. The garden is tapered and thus Finlay wishes to create walls with the texts to reflect classical perspectives - thus : "The existing garden tapers as if in emulation of Renaissance perspective drawings. The proposed design exploits this by the division into terraces on slightly different levels with steps between. The theme of perspective is finally given expression in the text which is realised in stone as part of the three dividing walls.". VG in like folder.
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Little Sparta: Finlay, 20th July 1993
An original vintage xerox 30 x 21cm, 2pp with a round robin letter from Finlay.
The letter explains that the legal action taken by Strathclyde region over the supposed debt relating to the Garden temple will, if successful, mean the end of the garden as an "expression of Revolutionary Neoclassicism; it will be defined as a tourist attraction and commercial enterprise, and its only resort will be to close". Noting that the Scottish Arts Council had effectively remained silent on the matter and that he Finlay had been unwell and "unable to take action as he did in 1983 and at other times when the garden was threatened. Supporters are asked to ask the SAC to take action in support of Finlay "now".
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
17.1 x 10.4cm, 4pp card with a painting by Gary Hincks of a carnation that has been cut in two down the vertical. Below it are the words "Saint-Just 1767-1794 "
On the back is the description of the young blade standing high in the cart as he went to his death. "He had a carnation in his button hole."
The card is a memorial for Saint-Just who died on the guillotine as part of the Thermidorian reaction. It also perhaps recalls the quote from the "Angel of Death": "One does not make revolutions by halves”. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
11.5 x 10.4cm, 4pp card with a painting of a watering can by Mark Stewart with the two line poem:
"If the garden were not a republic
the watering can would be king."
The watering can is an important part of any gardener's equipment and the poem notes its essential role but also refers to the 10th day of August when the Terror ended with the downfall of Robespierre and eventually the return of the monarchy (admittedly after Napoleon). VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
15.5 x 10.5cm, 2pp card with a photographic image of a bust of Saint-Just by Kerstin Curwin.
The title of the card "A dream is always the sentiment of a truth that exists no more" which is somewhat appropriate to the hopes and wishes of the French revolution which eventually failed and the monarchy restored. VG+.
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39 x 59 cm unique collage/appropriation comprising a vintage magazine cover from Signal Magazine mounted on cardboard and placed in a glass and wooden frame - the work is signed 'C. Boltanski' on the label on the back of the 40.5 x 60.5 cm frame which is also the dated, numbered and inscribed '1993, 4/16 (Unikat) Collage Jahresausgabe des Museumvereins Mönchengladbach 1993' . Each of the 16 issued works was unique with a different cover from Signals Magazine - the war time magazine had interested Boltanski for a long period because in part of the day to day activities to be found in the illustrations - belying the conflict that was happening throughout Europe....
Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
17.4 x 9cm, 12pp plus card covers and printed dustjacket. Artist's book which is another of Finlay's inventive poetry formats. Here "corners" refers to poems where part of the word is on one side of a corner (here represented by the page end) and concluded on the other. The first part of the word gives on meaning and when completed by the second part the word has new meaning (sometimes related to the firs to create a new visual poem). For instance:
DAIS
Y
The 'Dais' refers to a sculptural platform, when completed the 'Daisy' creates a poetic view of the flower where the flower head is placed on the dais of the stem.
One of the corner poems was also published as a book mark by Finlay (Windflow/er) and can be found elsewhere on this site.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1993
8 x 14.8cm, 4pp (single folded sheet). Artist's card which internally has the concrete poem:
A, E, I, O, YOU.
Finlay must have been in love. Printed blue on green. VG+.
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St Andrews: Crawford Arts Centre, 1993
15 x 14cm, 6pp folded invitation card for the exhibition with a text by Francis Edeline and listing 11 neon works by Finlay made in collaboration with Julie Farthing and Bruce Sim. VG+.
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Edinburgh: Graeme Murray, 1993
21 x 7.5cm, 8pp. Black on yellow folded single sheet, A publisher's/dealer's catalogue listing a number of works and books, etc by Finlay as well as Roger Ackling, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Andy Goldsworthy, Hamish Fulton, Alan Johnson, Pieter Laurens Mol, Linda Taylor, Edda Renouf and James Cramb available with prices. Graeme Murray was Finlay's dealer for many years. VG+.
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Glasgow: Tramway, 1993
60 x 42cm, green and black on white exhibition poster for a solo show where Boltanski found objects that had been left by error on the Glasgow underground railway. VG.
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