Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1985)
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp, a leaflet/card on glossy paper with a text:
On paper Francis Picabia was wickedly witty; in paint he was restless, stylish and shameless. Thirty five years after his death, one of the most provocative voices in modern art shouts louder than ever."
The text has been appropriated by the Saint-Just Vigilantes. VG+. ...
Bruxelles: Editions Lebeer Hossmann, 1985
21 x 14.5cm, 64pp. Original printed wrappers. A curiosity in that the first half of this book is a short story by Harding followed by a text on the work of Finlay and Sarkis in French issued on the occasion of an exhibition LITTLE SPARTA & KREIGSSCHATZ in Chapelle Sainte-Marie, Two colour photographs and 16 b/w images of sculptural works and works in Little Sparta by Marius Alexander. An artist's book? An exhibition catalogue? We have decided the latter. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1983
27.9 x 18.4cm, red and black offset lithograph which lists the names of those on the governing body of the Scottish Arts Council and with a sythe calling on the body to be "reaped" and people to join the Saint-Just Vigilantes. Finlay felt the SAC had not supported his fight with Strathclyde Region. Arts bodies who attempt to oversee art are always a stupid idea - and today nothing much has changed with the replacement of the SAC with Creative Scotland.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1985
15 x 10.5cm, 4pp (made of a single folded sheet printed one-side only). A hand-written letter on printed Ulysses Was Here stationery (one of the few times we have seen the printed letterhead used in such a folded manner) from Sue Finlay to John Stathatos letting the latter know that the Wildflower Vases are available for £100 each. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Finlay, 25th January 1985
An original vintage xerox 30 x 21cm, 1pp with a round robin letter from Finlay to all of the Saint-Just Vigilantes.
The letter lets the Vigilantes know that the Sheriff Officer had informed Little Sparta that he "has received explicit instructions from Strathclyde Regional Council to proceed with a Sale of the effects earlier removed" from the Garden Temple.
Finlay explains that some of the artworks removed had other owners and were therefore illegally taken. Finlay explains the role of the Scottish Arts Council (a role he is unhappy with) as a potential mediator but notes their failure to take that role. He asks supporters to write to the SAC and others to demand that the illegal sale of works be cancelled and that the "Region be obliged to return to the notion of law."
The letter ends with "Meanwhile, will all Saint-Just Vigilantes who are available for active service at the front, please be in touch with Little Sparta. "Only those who take part in Battles, win them." - Saint-Just.
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Little Sparta: Saint-Just Vigilantes (Finlay), 1985 30 x 21cm, 2pp (recto only) vintage xerox of a letter from Finlay to Christopher MacIntosh noting that the Scottish Arts Council had (after earlier requests) agreed to hear Finlay's case for them to support his actions against the Strathclyde regional Council. Finlay asks MacIntosh as one of the Saint-Just Vigilantes to write to the SAC stating that the latter believes the Garden Temple to be a religious building and to return the letter to Finlay. The letter also has short passages by Finlay where he states clearly his belief that the building is clearly religious in nature and pointing to the equivalence of Apollo and Saint Just as both revolutionary and classical. "A garden may be a paradigm of Revolution since it consists in the shaping, not of an artefact, but of an actual piece of territory." Slight rust around where a staple has been removed in the past else VG. ...
Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1985
23 x 23cm (unfolded size), 2pp sheet of printed paper designed to be folded into a paper airplane shape and thrown.
The text inside: "BEAT THE REDS WITH THE WHITE WEDGE: CORRESPOND!" adapts the Russian revolutionary slogan from the famous painting by Lazar Markovich Lissitzky, suggesting writing letters may be a radical response to the attacks on Little Sparta by the Strathclyde Region. It should be noted that the dart is supposedly published by the "Committee of Public Safety" which was the centralised mechanism by which Robespierre and Saint-Just controlled the Terror of the French revolution. This is a mailed example to Ronnie Duncan with stamp and frank. Murray lists this as a card - which is debatable we have decided to categorise it as a letter/document because of it's intent as a campaigning item. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1984
14 x 9.7cm, 48pp (printed recto only) and printed white wrappers.
Artist's book with 16 quotations from Hagel paired with other classical and modern quotations from Hereclitus, Wittgenstein, Zeno, Coleridge, Pythagorus and Finlay himself. The conjoining of the tests brings new meaning to the Hegelian bon mots. This was a Christmas publication from the Press which was often sent out as gifts to friends and colleagues - this copy has a handwritten dedication "Stuart from Ian as always". VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1984
8.8 x 10.2cm , 4pp black and red on white card.
The card lists twelve new names of the months of the year (much like the way the French Revolutionary calendar renamed the year. The names "Month of the Hurricane", "Month of the Snowman" mostly reflect the weather but there are also references to the events of 1793 but one line is printed in festive red "Month of the Pocket Battleship" which one may assume is the month around Christmas (this being a Christmas card). December is hence now the 4th month and a pocket battleship being a toy may be seen as a children's gift.,BR>
This example of the card has a relatively long (for a small card) message from Finlay to Stuart (Mills?) "doesn't this card remind you a wee line of Old Times, even if it is not printed in 60's sepia? I thinkI made it especially for you. How are you? That rotten firm never answered my letter about their rotten clockwork boat. Love to all, your chum, Ian. 12.12.84". An insightful short missive. VG+.
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Martock: Parrett Press, 1984 21 x 14.5cm, 16pp plus card covers. String bound. A proposal by Finlay for the artistic improvement of an olive grove at the Villa Celle in Italy. The work, also known as "The Celle Proposal," was created in collaboration with Nicholas Sloan who created the 4 woodcuts and the map of the land and was published by the latter's small press. The proposal includes a brass plough with a text: "The day is old by noon", a bronze tree plaque on an olive tree with "Il flaute d'argento/La scorza rozza" and "La Scorza d'argento/Il flauto rozzo", a wmall circular temple with an inscription "L'ombra medita sulla" and a sculpture in broze of a basket of lemons with "Silence after chatter' and "The astringent is sweet". There is also a small "concise" dictionary at the back of the book with various definition works. This is a very rare book with only 20 copies being printed. There are slight closed tears on the oversize wrappers but over all this is VG+. A delight. ...
Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1984
8.8 x 10.2cm , 1pp black and red on white card.
The card has an illustration by Mark Stewart after a painting by Jacques Blanchard of Paris and Oenone. Oenone was Paris' first wife who he dumped for Helen of Troy. The card has a cut-out which creates a small version of a tree plaque in three dimensions. The card refers to five oval plaques having been made each with the names of classical lovers and five rectangular plaques with tree names. They were exhibited in the "English Garden: in Merian Park, Basel". VG+.
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57 x 10 x 44cm, etched glass on custom made wooden stand. The concrete poem is made up of a number of anagrams of the word "DAZZLE" although the word itself is not found on the etched glass plate. This is an unique sculptural version of a poem first published in 1979 as an artist's book by Finlay. The Dazzle ships were battleships in the second world war where zigzag patterns were painted on the side to help camouflage the outlines of the vessel. By showing all of the mixed up letters but not the original word Finlay is creating a visual poem abstracting the real life boats. We do not know the date of this work - we suspect it is from the 1980s. In VG+ condition,...