07 Apr

Posted at 17:16h in Letters + Documents

London: Institute of Contemporary Arts, 7th April 1988
An original vintage xerox 30 x 21cm, 1pp of a letter from James Lingwood to Monsieur de Lacoste.
A delivered after a delegation met with Monsieur de Lacoste, the Minister Consular at the London French Embassy to discuss the cancellation of Finlay's Versailles Garden Commission asking that he communicate the substance of the delegations argument to the Ministry of Culture. He goes on to point out that "unsubstantiated allegation should never take precedence over considered debate".
"We were mindful that your response to us was of necessity professional rather than persona, and thank you again for your consideration. Had the artists been afforded similar consideration prior to any public announcement, this alarming and disappointing sequence of events may never have occurred."

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05 Apr

Posted at 09:08h in Letters + Documents

London: Gavin Stamp, 5h April 1988
An original vintage xerox 30 x 21cm, 1pp of a letter from Gavin Stamp, the writer, television presenter and architectural historian, to the French Ambassador to Great Britain.
Stamp expresses his dismay at the cancellation of the Versailles commission by the French Government "apparently for political reasons".
He goes on to say" that an artist investigates the meanings and ambiguities of symbols does not mean that he embraces them. An Anyone who studies Finlay soon realises that the idea that he is a Nazi sypathizer (sic) is preposterous."
"Unfortunately, because he has sometime explored the meaning of Classicism under the Third Reich - as have others, anxious to exorcise the traumas of this century - he has been smeared by lesser, and ignorant men."
"Finlay's project for Versailles demonstrates peculiar sympathy with the Classical tradition of France and understanding of the French Revolutionary period. It deserves to be executed."
Finlay and his wife sought help from friends during the dispute caused by Millet's accusations of anti=-Semitism and this is an example of one of the letters sent on their behalf - this being a particularly powerful defence of the aesthetics of Finlay. it did sadly not change the French Government's mind and the cancellation of the commission stood.
Copied at the time by Finlay to distribute to friends and press as a source of information. VG although some rippling of the paper.

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30 Mar

Posted at 16:55h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
16.5 x 14cm, 1pp. Artist's card with a quote from Catherine Millet "I saw a work, I saw Nazi signs carved on it, basta...

10 Mar

Posted at 17:01h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
10 x 14cm, 1pp. Artist's card with an aggressive text about Finlay's enemy Blum:
Pick
Michel Blum
petal by
petal
Finlay compares this to the "flaying of Marsyas" the satyr who upset Apollo and was killed in the most painful manner. Finlay is suggesting a similar fate, albeit only in metaphor, for Michel Blum the "intellectual terrorist". VG+.

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02 Mar

Posted at 21:48h in Artist's Books

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988 12.5 × 10cm, 8pp plus wrappers and printed red dust jacket. Artist book with three definitions for the word ‘swastika’ which show the symbolism can have different meanings and not all negative - Finlay has dedicated to Stephane Paoli, Catherine Millet and Michel Blum who all stupidly accused Finlay of being a Nazi when they saw an anti-fascist artwork which included a swastika. VG+. Very scare publication....

01 Mar

Posted at 17:08h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
11.2 x 16.5cm, 1pp. Artist's card with two quotes - the first by Michael Archer in Art Monthly attacking Finlay for suggesting that Waldemar should be repatriated and pointing out the critic was from Berkshire not Poland.
The second quote suggests that Berkshire "is the sort of county that given half a chance would impose a toll to keep out the riff-raff and as such it attracts the sort of riff-raff who have acquired sufficient money to be allowed in...

22 Feb

Posted at 19:39h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
8.8 x 8cm, 12pp (accordion fold printed on one side only). Folding artist's card with images of a guillotine blade with four one line poems such as "Hard-edged abstraction" over printed on the image.
The publication is an attack on Michel Blum, Jonathan Hirschfeld and Yves Hayat all of whom had recently accused Finlay of anti-semitism (and had turned on Finlay despite the poet at one point helping him in his personal life). VG+

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18 Feb

Posted at 20:21h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
8.4 x 13cm, 1pp. Artist's card attacking the Guardian art critic Januszczak. The text "Reader, be warned that within this thicket there lurks a name" is a jibe at the Polish name and a slight hint that Finlay regards Januszczak as a thicko. As with some of Finlay's attacks, this might well have been better not published as it hints at a xenophobia (which may have seemed less in 1988) although knowing Finlay he probably saw the profuse use of consonants in the name and thought of nothing else but that is being generous.
Finlay's ire was not to be fired up and a majority of the cards he published in the late 80s were attacks on his enemies. While sometimes amusing, and sometimes well aimed at people who had criticised him mostly unfairly, many are little more than slight barbs and this period of artist card production was not that artistically valid. VG+

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14 Feb

Posted at 20:29h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
10.1 x 14.8cm, 1pp. Artist's card attacking Michel Blum. The three lines read: "League fo Rights", "League of Bookts" and "League of Whips". VG+.

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08 Feb

Posted at 20:38h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
10.1 x 14.8cm, 1pp. Artist's card with a declaration that mirrors those of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution where (here) Michel Blum) is referred to the Committee of General Security, for his various crimes and asking anyone wishing to offer evidence for or against Blum to write to Finlay. Dull and probably produced in the hope that some dirt on Blum might actually arise from someone reading the card.VG+.

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01 Feb

Posted at 20:33h in Artist's Postcards

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1988
10.1 x 12.7cm, 1pp. Artist's card with a quotation - "Racism of the anti-racists, terrorism of the anti-terrorists: the 1980's are the 1930's stood on their head." (sic) Typographically the two dates are set above in large font size with the 1930 upside down to make a visual correspondence to the each other and the text. Another attack card here without naming criticising Millet and her cohorts. Interestingly Finlay makes one of his rare mistakes in the text and incorrectly adds a " to the years. VG+.

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