20 May

Posted at 09:22h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp - three colour screenprint with images of the Olympic rings on the two colour background red and blue. Design by Costley after Finlay's instruction. The card is a homage to the boat builders Walter Reekie at St. Monans where "ring netters" were built (a form of bottom fishing that was found not to be quite as environmentally destructive as pulling heavier nets over the bottom as the nets were much lighter). The boats are represented here by the rings and the blue is presumably the sea and the red a setting or early morning sky. 1972 was an Olympic year so the card was (unofficially) released as part of those events although those Olympics became the most tragic in history after the terrorist attack on the Israeli athletes.
Finlay re-issued a similar card in 1996 - another Olympic yearVG+.

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01 Apr

Posted at 09:14h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp - artist card printed purple on white with a "join the dots" drawing on the front which if completed shows a harbour scene with three boats that could well be the subject matter of a Seurat painting. And by the use of the dots Finlay also references the pointilliste technique of painting with small blobs of colour (Seurat being the best known of that art school and thus the card becomes an homage to him.) Drawing by Ron Costley. VG+.

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20 Mar

Posted at 09:08h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
7.5 x 8.6cm, 6pp (single folded sheet printed only one side). One of Finlay's most accessible and popular cards, the images on both sides by Ian Gardner are very similar only one is a path leading to a house, the other a wake on water leading to a boat. The text in the middle tells a story in very few words: "They returned home tired by happy. The End." As with many of Finlay's card and prints that show returning boats this can be seen as a metaphor for the end of life or just the end of a nice tale. VG+

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25 Feb

Posted at 23:19h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
6.7 x 18.5cm, 4pp. Two photographs by Finlay of one of his home-made toys - here a frigate. On closer inspection one suddenly realises that the photograph is the same one only flipped so that the reflection from the water creates a visual illusion of solidity when it is dominant. Under one image the word "Fregatte" is set and under the other "Frigate" hence on the left the German and on the right the English words for the battleship. Hence by a simple rotation Finlay's photograph displays both sides of the conflict.
This card is signed on the back cover "Love from Ian" in blue ink. VG+.

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11 Feb

Posted at 23:13h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
10.5 x 15.2cm, 1pp. A photograph by Finlay of his son Eck (later Alex) Finlay as a young child in a small boat on the lake (named after Eck) on the Finlay farm. It is a charming picture. Edward Atkinson Hornel was a Scottish painter who specialised in paintings of landscapes and nature within which children were often seen playing - a successful strategy for sales.

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11 Jan

Posted at 23:00h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1972
10.5 x 14.9cm, 4pp. Christmas card with typography by Michael Harvey with the title text across the card printed light yellow on yellow. The colour is meant to be reminiscent of wheat - and the boat name "Wave Sheaf" references the way the wind makes the stalks billow as if they are waves. The way the text is placed also implies a voyage across the horizon by a boat and simultaneously the ascenders of the letters might be regarded as masts or the sheaves. Additionally a wave-sheave was a traditional offering given by Jewish priests to their god and preceded the harvesting of the corn.
Leviticus 23:10-14 says "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you be come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it."

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29 Dec

Posted at 22:02h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
12.5 x 9.1cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a photographic image of a kite on the front. Internally the text reads: "Willing Wings. A Wild Hawthorn kite sets off on a leaflet raid, it's target The Arts Council of Great Britain, or possibly Fulcrum Press. New Year, 1971."
The kite - one of Finlay's handmade toys - is here weaponised. Finlay by 1971 had fallen out with the Arts Council and also the Fulcrum Press (over the production of the fifth edition of The Dancers Inherit the Party" which they had published claiming it was the first edition. This is the first card published by Finlay with an intent of attacking his enemies.

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04 Dec

Posted at 22:45h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
21 x 12.5cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced painting by Ian Gardner tipped on the card and opposite a text: "Elegy for Whimbrel and Petrel/petrol". A whimbrel is a wading bird and petrel is another sea bird that spends much of its time on the wing rather than on the sand hence between the two animals both sand and sky birds are represented. The elegy - the poem - is a sad consideration of the effects of pollution on seaside bird life. Opposite the boat in the painting is beached and has its sails ripped - hence it appears petrol fuelled boats are replacing the more traditional vessels much to Finlay's dismay. VG+.

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23 Nov

Posted at 22:54h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
12.4x 16.4cm, 4pp. Christmas card with the image of a fishing boat along with the Port Letters (FR), the Fishing Nos (218), the net tonnage (54), horse power (200) and its name (Xmas Morn). A visual poem by Finlay - a companion work to the two cards published at Christmas for both of the earlier two years.
Finlay's interest in boat names and numbers is reflected in the beauty of Furnival's line drawing. The boat - here drawn by Michael Harvey - like the previous two earlier drawings by John Furnival, is a poem on water. Interestingly Harvey's drawing style cannot be told apart from the earlier Furnival drawings. VG+.
JOINT WITH:
Original mailing envelope hand addressed to Seamus Cooney of the University of Kalamazoo by Finlay and dated November 29 1971. ...

26 Oct

Posted at 22:40h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
10.8 x 13cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a photograph by Dianne Tammes of a Finlay toy boat sailing on the water. Inside is the descriptive text: "Ian Hamilton Finlay's Unicorn. Length o.a. 91/2 in, Tonnage 6oz. Auxiliary clockwork motor". The boat is treated as if it was a full sized boat with its measurements but the auxiliary motor which is clockwork gives the game away.

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11 Oct

Posted at 22:30h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
11.2 x 11.4cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced drawing by Margot Sandeman of the child's game of conkers on strings and a leaf from the horse chestnut tree. Inside the card is the text: "CATCHES. A big catch is a wee consolation. (After Paul Klee)." VG+.

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11 Sep

Posted at 22:09h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
9.8 x 7cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced painting by Ian Gardner of a tree in a landscape. Inside the card is the text: "TREE-SHELLS. Instructions: Apply ear to Tree-Shell. Listen for Lakes." The card can be used to create the same auditory illusion as holding a sea-shell to the ear - hence bringing the sound of water (lakes) to the ear. VG+

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