Gary Hincks - Unoriginal Sins

01 Oct SOME VERSIONS OF PASTORAL. 1978.

Posted at 08:28h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1978
14.8 x 12.2cm, 2pp. Black on cream card with six drawings by Gary Hincks of patterns which may be camouflage or just abstract drawings from leaves and vegetation.
The card is subtitled HOMAGE TO WILLIAM EMPSON who was a majorly influential critic and theorist in poetry circles of the 1930s. His book "Seven Types of Ambiguity" argued that if a word in a poem could have more than one meaning then that poem could also be read in more than one manner.
There are seven drawings here (the last two are half of the size of the others) and all could be regarded as 'ambiguous' (as one might argue all camouflage is) hence this is in some manner a visual analogue of the theories of the critic.
VG+.

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26 Jul THE HARBOUR AT GRAVELINES. 1978.

Posted at 19:01h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1978) 38 × 47.3cm, blue and black on white screen print showing a harbour at evening time by Gary Hincks in the style of pointillisme (perhaps even Seurat). The work is subtitled "in familiar mottle camouflage" - which is a humorous comment on the style and wartime attempts at disguising ships. VG condition.

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15 Jul BETULA PENDULA (SILVER BIRCH). 1978.

Posted at 09:24h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1978
9.6 x 13.8cm, 2pp. Black on white card with a drawing of a German tank amongst silver birch trees by Gary Hincks.
Finlay has a number cards (and some prints) bearing images of the German Panzer force which is often regarded (if not entirely true) as the most effective of the land war weapons of the conflict. This tank pictured by Hincks is specifically a Tiger 308 of the schwere Panzer Abteilung 502 and was one of the heavy weapons to aid in the (failed) push to conquer Russia.
The Silver Birch is also a tree that is found from Scotland to the East - it does not stretch south in Europe except at much higher altitudes - thus may also be regarded as "invading" Russia.
In any case, the tank symbolises death for Finlay and when shown in beautiful landscapes is a real reminder of the painting "In Arcadia Ego" by Poussin which is meant to remind humans that they too will die someday. VG+.

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01 May BETULA PENDULA. (SILVER BIRCH). 1977.

Posted at 16:34h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1977
11.5 x 13.5cm, 2pp. The first of three cards which display a drawing (here by Gary Hincks) of an armoured tracked weapon from the second world war - this appears to be a US M7 Priest (from the double barrel) and it is camouflaged by the addition of tree branches on the sides (which one presumes are from birch trees). The birch is a tree that only grows from the East of Europe to the West but not South at all unless at high altitude (the tree does not like hot weather). This card reminds one - as with the other similar works - that even in the beauty of the countryside lurks death. As such it is a momento mori and not the first or last such work in Finlay's oeuvre. VG+.

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15 Apr AFTER THOMAS HEARNE. 1977. WITH A GET WELL NOTE FROM FINLAY.

Posted at 16:45h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1977
15 x 10.7cm, 2pp. Two drawings by Gary Hincks of the same landscape with a large stately home in the distance.
The first drawing is labelled Palladian and the second drawing, which shows molehills disturbing the scene everywhere, is labelled Picturesque.
Thomas Hearne was a 17th century diarist and engraver of landscapes - and they were often in the style of the Picturesque.
The two scenes here are a jokey method of commenting on conflicting styles of drawing/landscaping and architecture, Palladian stressed austerity, classicism and symmetry whereas the Picturesque style emphasised nature and the natural. By including the molehills in the second drawing, Finlay is criticising the style in favour of his neo-classical tastes by making the realities of the wild a destructive force to beauty.
This example was sent by Finlay to Dawn MacLeod has a handwritten note "A wee "get well" top the recalcitrant wrist. Warm wishes, Ian" in black ink. VG+.

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02 Apr THE DIVIDED MEADOWS OF APHRODITE. 1975.

Posted at 09:57h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp. A drawing by Gary Hincks of the deck of an aircraft carrier is labelled with the Greek and the English quotation - the divided meadows of Aphrodite. As discussed elsewhere on this site (a blanket in the object multiples section) this does not only reference the verdant landscapes of the classical Greerk gods but also is a sexual metaphor for the goddess' labia. The drawing shows the red path where the planes take off and land on - which is clearly a visual reference to the vaginal opening. VG+

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