12 May

Posted at 20:27h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1992
101 x 8cm, 32pp plus end papers and green embossed boards. A proposal offered to Laumeier Sculpture Park in Saint Louis, the book has four paintings by Grahame Jones of leaf-like shapes (cast shades) - the elm, the pine, the plane and the lime. The choice of shades (shapes) comes from a quote by Vigil (a plane-tree was a common garden element in those days as were the three others mentioned).
The work was installed in 1994 and consisted of the four named trees planted together on an earthwork - making Virgil's quotation literal. it is possible to sit under the trees in their shade.

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16 Aug

Posted at 11:23h in Proposals

Magdeburg: Bundesgartenschau/Wild Hawthorn Press, 1999
18.5 x 17.8 (folded size), gate-fold artist's card (with double fold sides) with a drawing of a sheep's fold by Laurie Clark printed brown on light beige card stock. A proposal for a former military training ground in Germany, Finlay proposes a stone built old fashioned shipfold with gate that visitors are welcome to enter. On the stone is a title of a Salmuel Palmer etching "Folding the last sheep" (a text used by both Finlay and more often by Thomas A. Clark) and on the gate are the carved words :SHepherd's song"). The text is also found in German on the card. This is both artist's card and proposal but we have placed it (as has the Press) in the latter category). VG+.

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12 Sep

Posted at 20:28h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1997
11 x 22cm, 20pp plus two fold outs and leaf patterned boards with tipped on label. A proposal for the grounds of London's Serpentine Gallery which consisted of semi-circle of 8 benches with plaques and a single central plaque in the Meadow Area. The texts are all translations from Vigil talking of a distant view - but each translation takes on different nuances of the original. Translations are by Finlay himself with Jessie Sheeler, Samuel Palmer, C Day Lewis, W F Jackson Knight, Harry Gilonis, John Caryll, and Charles Calverley. Virgil's own Latin quotation is also present on the final bench.
A further plaque again quotes Virgil: "Home, goats, home, replete, the evening star is coming." - a quotation that in which one recognises aspects of Finlay's most famous work - "Evening will come, they sew the blue sail."
A massive carved circular paving stone is also proposed to be placed at the entrance to the gallery listing the latin names of trees that are found near to the gallery. Lettering was drawn by Peter Coates and Andrew Whittle. Maps and cover paper by Gary Hincks.

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06 Feb

Posted at 11:23h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1996
17 x 28cm, 4pp outer folder content of a 17 x 28cm, 4pp semi-opaque sheet with a proposal for an installation for the new Gallery of Modern Art,Glasgow Finlay explains the work thus: "The drama of the deeply recessed windows is accentuated by an inscription which plays on a well-known slogan from the French Revolution. The words are set within simplified linear representations of a guillotine blade, both elements (verbal and graphic) being realised as clear glass within frosted glass, allowing a contrasting partial view of the present-day street. Speaking of The Terror, the French socialist historian Jaures wrote: 'The scaffold filled the city with a glow of immortality.' Questions such as that of the survival of the soul after death had ceased to be academic.'" VG+....

10 Aug

Posted at 19:16h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1995 10 X 10cm, 4pp card with a drawing of the ”Cabane” by Andrew Whittle on the front and internally a drwing of the proposed motto to be above the door:

LA CABANE A SES RAISONS QUE LA MAISON NE CONNAIT POINT

The proposal for the restoration of the stone hut in Provence was to be built using the original stones except for the lintel with a variation on Pacal's famous dictum which translates into "THE HUT HAS ITS REASONS THAT THE HOUSE DOESN"T KNOW". Pascal's original was The heart has it's reasons that reason doesn't know. VG+. ...

12 Jul

Posted at 21:33h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1995
252 x 14.8cm, 28pp plus card covers and typographic dust jacket. A proposal in book form for the cladding and internal walls and glass of a German bank. The external works are all "definitions" such as:

AFFLUENCE n.
A SHORTAGE OF SACKCLOTH & ASHES.

which is ironic for a bank.
Internally wall paintings of "Evening will come they will sew the blue sail" and also "Wave/Rock" are found. The glass entrance doors have Star/Steer etched upon them.Text in English and German and all works photographed in b/w. The central seven images of the outer claddings open out as an accordion fold-out. VG+.

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10 Jul

Posted at 18:31h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1994 21.8 x 12.2cm, 4pp folding card printed green on cream card with a drawing by Gary Hincks on the front of a cairn of stones and an oar covered in netting to create a makeshift monument - a reference to Homer's Odyssey. This was a proposed public work for Bernhard and Marie Starkmann. VG+. ...

12 Jun

Posted at 18:33h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1994
16.5 x 10cm, 24pp plus endpapers and card wrappers with printed dustjacket. Nine works offered as a "proposal for a forest" which were installed in time for the 1995 State Garden Show at Landesgartenschau, Grevenbroich. The various interventions in the landscape mostly take quotations from German classical literature and place them on benches, tree plaques, wooden signposts and other appropriate interventions. Paintings by Ron Costley above descriptions by Finlay.

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12 Mar

Posted at 20:09h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1994
10.8 x 10.4cm, 16pp plus patterned boards. The proposal here takes the form of a photograph of the site with a pull back tipped on flap that shows the landscape without the lake side temple and when pulled aside one can see the proposed building. Saint-Just was termed the "Angel of Death" by his opponents during the Terror because he was often the delegate who announced the name of those to be arrested (and often killed) at the National Assembly. Apollo is the Greek god of amongst other things justice. Both might be regarded as being capable of severe judgement. Photomontage by Peter Rogan.
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09 Feb

Posted at 09:26h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1998
12.7 x 16.3cm, 4pp with 1pp transparent leaf internally:

on the left and right of the internal pages are colour photographs of two metal sculptures - both wheel barrows one carrying fallen oak leaves and the other flowering pots. The photographs were taken by Antonia Reeve. The text on the leaf reads:

Be good and with me walk/The old devalued park/Where autumn has set in. - a line from a poem by the American poet Karl Shapiro.

The work shows the two seasons of Autumn and Spring - with the contents of the barrow reflecting the gardener's tasks at each time. VG+. ...

09 Jul

Posted at 14:44h in Proposals

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1993) 21 x 8cm, 4pp proposal by Finlay for a sculptural work to be built in Willam Shenstone's The Leasowes in the form of an artist card.
The internal drawing by Annet Stirling is of the proposed stone obelisk which bears a text "From this spot may be seen the works of Walter Somer's forgemasters inadvertent manufacturers of parts for the Iraqi super-gun. Citius elephantem subala celes - sooner could you hide an elephant under your armpit".

This is unusually a political work by Finlay - Sadam Hussain had attempted to build several super gun under the title of Project Babylon. The first gun had a bore of 350 mm (13.8 inches), and a barrel length of 46 metres (151 feet). Finlay wanted the work to be build in the grounds of the house near Halesowen. VG+. ...

27 Jun

Posted at 16:18h in Proposals

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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