29 Apr

Posted at 20:27h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1979
29.6 x 21cm, full colour offset lithograph with a painting by Ron Costley. The landscape shows where Ulysses had been - but without any landmarks to clearly identify the location. Hence like Ulysses you are lost.
Moreover the phrase "Ulysses was here" also refers to the wartime graffiti "Kilroy was here" as if Ulysses had left his mark on an unknown island.
Interestingly this was original designed to be a folding card and as a result the address of Little Sparta is printed upside down at the top of the sheet. Some copies of these prints were folded by G+Finlay but this is one of the unfolded VG+ examples.

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10 Nov

Posted at 07:52h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1978
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp. A list of the latin names of trees all of which share a U in their names are placed one above the other such that a descending line of the letter can be seen (printed in black to highlight it further). Above the text instructs the reader to "play: cover tall the letters except U, using the index finger of each hand."
The "U"s create the fictional flute representing holes - a clear reference to the classical Pan and his pipes. The rest of the card is printed in lime green - again a symbol of vegetation and nature.
this card has been later signed in green ink on the back "Ian Hamilton Finlay 15.4.83". VG+.

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18 Jul

Posted at 14:52h in Artist's Books

Firenze: Zona, n.d. (1978)
21 x 15cm, 4pp (self cover) no binding. The four sheets with calligraphy by Ron Costley read:
white & bark, black & light, bark & light, white & dark and black& white
The combinations of the words (with the basic structure taken from the last coupling "black and white") along with the title "Woods" create visual images of different woodland scenes (each, of course, will be personal to the reader but in the main bark and light may bring the outside of a Birch tree to mind for instance). Finlay uses this trick of word transposition often in works - the changes causes by minimal alterations to words and their syntax interests him greatly. He feels that small changes in letters or word-combination causes large changes to their meaning or their perceived meaning.
This was published by Maurizio Nannucci of Zona Archives, himself a concrete poet. VG+.

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17 Sep

Posted at 12:06h in Exhibition Catalogues

London: Serpentine Gallery, 1977
23 x 16cm, 96pp. Original pictorial wrappers . An exhibition catalogue with an "imaginary portrait" of Finlay by Stephan Bann and various illustrations and photographs of works and an insert on cream laid paper "The Wartime Garden" by Finlay illustrated by Ron Costley (which was also published elsewhere). VG+.

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05 Jul

Posted at 21:31h in Artist's Books

Calais, Vermont: Z Press, 1977 23 x 15cm, 54pp plus card covers. First edition of this artist's book designed by Ron Costley and with a commentary by Stephen Bann. The emblems are all drawings of military machines such as tanks or battle ships acting as metaphors associated with Greek mythology:

SEMPRE FESTINA LENTE
HASTEN SLOWLY

is associated with a Sherman tank with a flail which was used to clear minefields - hence moving slowly in order to later move quickly.
This is one of only 50 copies signed and numbered by Finlay in black ink aside from the larger edition of 750 copies. Rare deluxe copy. VG+.

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27 May

Posted at 22:01h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1977
9.5 × 12.1Bm, brown on cream paper in folded 4pp light brown folder. The image by Ron Costley is of a stag, a crab together on a beach with the text "Enchantment An ear-alluring sweetness." a line from "On Abstinence from Animal Food" by Porphyry. a translation of part of the poem is printed on the inside of the cover - translated by Thomas Taylor. The section tells of how stags and horses and crabs can be charmed by music - the point being that the animals have more consciousness than usually ascribed to them in the days of the Romans. Porphyry was an early advocate of vegetarianism on spiritual and ethical grounds and this work reflects that philosophy.

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26 Apr

Posted at 21:25h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1977
56.5 × 68.7cm, two colour silkscreen with an image (by Ron Costley from Finlay's instruction) of beehives and trees some of which are aflame. The bees are flying between the hives some on the attack, others presumably in panic. A work based on the American fleet's victory over the Japanese at the battle of Midway on the Fourth of June 1942. The victory left many of the Japanese aircraft with nowhere to land once their carriers were destroyed and they had to ditch in the water and most drowned. One of 300 copies made - this has a companion print Battle of Midway II (see separate listing) These are very large prints - possibly the largest Finlay had ever made. A bit worn at the edges but overall VG.

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24 Apr

Posted at 15:02h in Exhibition & Other Posters

Cambridge: Kettle's Yard, 1975
60 x 42cm, olive green and black on white offset lithograph. The line drawing by Ron Costley is a copy of the outline of the original Bernini sculpture of the gods.
There is a text beneath the image: ‘APOLLO AND DAPHNE/ after Bernini/BIBLIOGRAPHY - Ovid, “Metamorphoses”; Rudolf Wittkower, “The Sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini”; Historical Research Unit, Vol. 6, “Uniforms of the SS”’.
The classical story of the pair is one of desire - Apollo being consumed by lust for Daphne (thanks to Eros messing with his motivation) and Daphne desiring to remain chaste (Again this is down to Eros). When Apollo did manage to catch Daphne (presumably with rape his intent) Daphne's father Peneus turned her into an laurel tree - hence saving her virginity.
The Tate Gallery website claims Finlay explained that "the gods and nature ‘were behaving not unlike the Waffen SS’ (who were the first to use a smock with a leaf camouflage pattern, hence its identification with them).
This poster, in which Daphne is wearing a camouflage smock which replaces ‘nature’, was the poster for the title exhibition at the Cambridge Poetry Festival in 1977. It is the same image as in the print APOLLO AND DAPHNE. AFTER BERNINI. 1975 but with exhibition details added at the bottom. Slight crease top right else VG.

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13 Apr

Posted at 18:10h in Exhibition Catalogues

Cambridge: Kettle"s Yard Gallery. 1977
21 x 13.2cm, 30pp plus card covers and printed typographic dust jacket. Design and typography by Ron Costley and essays by Stephen Bann, Douglas Hall, Miles Orvell and Stephen Scobie with a poem "Stonypath" by Kathleen Raine. An exhibition catalogue for a show of works which were "collaborations" with other artists (which is almost all of Finlay;'s works). VG+.

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25 Oct

Posted at 21:13h in Prints + Posters

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press 1975
74.9 × 36.8cm, light brown on white silkscreen on thick paper. The drawing by Ron Costley (from Finlay's instruction) is in faux Roman lettering - an attractive typography which has under the first word a drawing that doubles as both a symbolic sundial and a female vaginal mound. Venus, of course, was the goddess of love (sex) - and the shape of the gnomon and its shadows creates a capital "V" to again symbolise the female sex symbol.
One of c. 300 printed - this has slight marks in the margins but is overall VG. Scarce item.

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23 Jun

Posted at 16:23h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
49.7 x 36cm, olive green and black on white screenprint. The line drawing by Ron Costley is a copy of the outline of the original Bernini sculpture of the gods.
There is a text beneath the image: ‘APOLLO AND DAPHNE/ after Bernini/BIBLIOGRAPHY - Ovid, “Metamorphoses”; Rudolf Wittkower, “The Sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini”; Historical Research Unit, Vol. 6, “Uniforms of the SS”’.
The classical story of the pair is one of desire - Apollo being consumed by lust for Daphne (thanks to Eros messing with his motivation) and Daphne desiring to remain chaste (Again this is down to Eros). When Apollo did manage to catch Daphne (presumably with rape his intent) Daphne's father Peneus turned her into an laurel tree - hence saving her virginity.
The Tate Gallery website claims Finlay explained that "the gods and nature ‘were behaving not unlike the Waffen SS’ (who were the first to use a smock with a leaf camouflage pattern, hence its identification with them). This image, in which Daphne is wearing a camouflage smock which replaces ‘nature’, was used as the poster for the exhibition ‘Ian Hamilton Finlay: Collaborations’ at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, 1977."
One of 300 such prints issued by the press as a limited printed edition. Fine.

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