paul robertson, Author at Unoriginal Sins

02 Oct KOWALSKI 1969 – 1972. c.1980. UNIQUE SMALL WORK.

Posted at 21:25h in James Lee Byars

6 x 4.5 x 3.5cm (approx) found stone upon which Byars has written "KOWALSKI 1969 - 1972" in black ink. Piotr Kowalksi was an artist friend of Byars (And who owned several works by the latter) and this appears to be a homage to the former, although we do not know the meaning of the dates chosen other than it appears Byars first met Kowalski in 1969 at the studio of Sara Holt and both Byars and Kowalksi had shows at the Kunsthalle Bern. A small unique work owned by the Swiss collector and art historian Marianne Büchler. We estimate the date of origin of this work as c. 1980....

01 Oct JAMES LEE BYARS. c. 1980. OBJECT MULTIPLE NOT IN LITERATURE.

Posted at 22:24h in James Lee Byars

N.p. (Bern?):n.p., n.d. (c. 1980) 0.75 plastic sphere overprinted with the artist's name. One of an unknown edition issued by the artist - here from the collection of Marianne Büchler, an art historian and a friend of Byars. VG+. Rare....

27 Sep REVOLUTIONSKLAVIER. c. 1980. SIGNED BY BEUYS.

Posted at 21:50h in Joseph Beuys Postcards

Konig: Postkartenverlag, n.d. (c. 1980)
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp. artist's postcard with the title vitrine/installation from 1969 in colour on the front (with Beuys standing in front of the piano which is covered in roses), verso standard postcard design. This example is signed in red felt tipped pen on the front by Beuys. VG+.

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27 Sep LAGERPLATZ. c. 1980. SIGNED BY BEUYS.

Posted at 21:47h in Joseph Beuys Postcards

Konig: Postkartenverlag, n.d. (c. 1980)
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp. artist's postcard with the title vitrine/installation from 1966 in colour on the front, verso standard postcard design. This example is signed in red felt tipped pen on the front by Beuys. VG+.

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18 Sep WOODS AND SEAS. 1980.

Posted at 11:36h in Artist's Books

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1980)
6 x9.2cm, 8pp plus card wrappers and printed dust jacket. The four printed pages has one word each:
5. Baroque
6. Barque
7. Bark
8. Baroque
and there is a reference to W. Lee Rensselaer's Names on Trees on the inner cover. That book is a literary and artistic analysis of the story of Angelica and Medoro in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. One aspect of Angelica's love for Medoro is that she carved the lovers' names on trees. Hence once can read the book as a visual poem of boats (Barque/Bark) and woods (Bark/Baroque) with the reference to baroque also referring to the art style of the 17th century. VG+

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03 Sep TWO BILLOWS. 1980

Posted at 11:47h in Artist's Books

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1980) 13.6 x 8cm, 4pp plus blue wrappers. Artist's book where Finlay has only two different paper types bound together in the wrappers - one is blue and the other is white. There is a reference to Henty Vaughan's "The Timber. Silex Scintillans" on the back fold.
Vaughan was a metaphysical poet of the 17th century and Silex Scintillans published in 1650 was a major religious text which was published in two volumes with a significant gap in time between them (possibly due to illness) . The Two Billows of the title refers to the two volumes and the change in colour of the two pages reflects the differences in the two books. A visual poem with a literary and religious meaning although the boat vignette on the cover may suggest the more literal meaning of two billows - two pushes of air helping the vessel steer a true course. VG+.

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30 Aug “COMPOSITION FEERIQUES” IN REAKTION V. 1980.

Posted at 10:12h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Aisbach: Verlaggaleria Leaman, 1980
31 x 27cm, printed plastic and card folder with metal ring binder. Content of individual contributions and multiples by a wide range of artists (many from the fields of conceptual art, visual poetry and some of the Fluxus- affiliated artists) including Filliou Monnier, SAito, Armleder and others as well as Boltanski.
Boltanski includes two sheets of "composition" images not shown elsewhere - stalk white on black outlines of objects which might be roughly painted or processed photographically (it is not clear which). Palms trees, a woman carrying a basket, fleeing couple, a man cutting wheat. The title Composition Feeriques suggests these are images of a "fairy world" and perhaps one can read a rough narrative into the eight images. Fine in like folder. Scarce. Not mentioned in any catalogue raisonne.

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27 Aug THE EXHIBITION OF PERFECT. 1980.

Posted at 22:30h in James Lee Byars

Harvard: Busch-Reisinger Museum, 1980
2.5 x 2.5cm, white paper square with the text THE EXHIBITION OF PERFECT printed in tiny typeface in the centre. Unlimited multiple but now very hard to find. VG+.

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27 Aug NUDE. DRAPED NUDE. 1980.

Posted at 15:35h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1980
60 x 82cm, black on white offset lithograph with two drawings by Gary Hincks. The first cruiser is shown in elevation, the second also but with camouflage nettings over the bows. The allusion is to classical portraits of the human form - unclothed and clothed.

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18 Aug COINCIDENCE IN THE WORK OF IAN HAMILTON FINLAY. 1980.

Posted at 16:45h in Exhibition Catalogues

Edinburgh: Graeme Murray Gallery, 1980
21 x 15cm, 20pp plus card covers and printed dust jacket. An early monograph and exhibition catalogue discussing one aspect of Finlay's work. Illustrated in b/w throughout. as well as reprinting excerpts from the New Arcadian Dictionary and catalogue of works in the exhibition. VG+.

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09 Aug “COYOTE” IST WEIDER DA! 1980.

Posted at 09:52h in Joseph Beuys Postcards

Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1980
30 x 21cm, 1pp offset lithograph promotional leaflet for the first edition of the book Coyote which documents Beuys New York aktion I love America, America Loves me. Badly reproduced but vintage - this has been folded for mailing, else VG.

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07 Aug NATURE OVER AGAIN AFTER POUSSIN. 1980.

Posted at 11:52h in Exhibition Catalogues

Glasgow: Collins Exhibition Hall, 1980 23 x 12cm, 30pp. Original wrappers with printed dust jacket . One centre page fold out. An exhibition catalogue with an introductory text by Stephan Bann and various illustrations including a garden plan by Albert Speer (who Bann and Finlay had been corresponding with and which was to cause trouble later) and a musical note by Wilma Patterson plus one fold out sheet showing various "plaques" by Finlay in the landscapes. At the back of the catalogue there is a page work by Finlay - white laid paper sheets are labelled MOSS in small type at the bottom then a dull green laid paer sheet has the text "refinements of words" on it. VG+.

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