Simon Cutts - Unoriginal Sins

11 Jun IAN HAMILTON FINLAY. PRINTS, CARDS, BOOKS AND WORKS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. 1976?

Posted at 21:50h in Invitation Cards

London: Coracle Press, n.d. (1976?)
10.5 x 13.5cm, 4pp (folded at top) announcement card for this show created from loans of works not necessarily with Finaly's permission. One "constellation" work is reproduced on the front: a peach an apple from Rapel, 1963. Internally gallery details. There is a paper scuff on the internal left of the card which affects the gallery details else VG. A very scarce card.

...

07 Apr STRAIKS. 1973. WITH SIMON CUTTS.

Posted at 19:11h in Artist's Books

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1973
9 x 7.5cm, 12pp plus card covers and printed dust jacket. Artist's book with Simon Cutts where similar sentences as subtly changes each illusrated by Sydney McK Glen with a landscape vignette. The sentences are "I prefer the streams of the mountains to the sea"/"I prefer the street of the mountains to the sea"/"I prefer the streaks of the mountains to the sea"/"I prefer the straiks of the mountains to the sea". The last work straiks is an unusual one - a less used version of the word stroke. Each slight change to the sentence gives a different poetic image of the landscape.
VG+ although the cheap staples are showing some rust.

...

18 Feb TEA CARDS. 1973. OAPT/AFVT/MFVT.

Posted at 16:48h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1973.
Three different cards - all 10.5 x 14.8cm, 2pp - each with a typographic design on the front with only the respective initials O.A.P.T./A.F.V.T./M.F.V.T and coloured backgrounds grey, mustard and blue. The initials stand for OLD AGE PENSIONERS TEA - and is allocated as for Simon Cutts, ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLE TEA and MOTOR FISHING VESSEL TEA both claimed for Finlay himself. A trio of related cards which are collectively designated by Finlay as "Tea-Cards" which recalls the small collectible cards found in tea packs as promotional items in the first half of the 20th century. One suspects a number of in-jokes between Finlay and Cutts are represented in these cards. VG+.

...

21 Apr METAPHOR AND MOTIF. 1972.

Posted at 22:31h in Exhibition Catalogues

Nottingham: The Tarasque Press, 1972
22.5 x 20cm, 28pp plus pictorial wrappers. Exhibition catalogue of show of concrete poetry works edited by Stephen Bann. Contributions by Simon Cutts, Ian Gardner, Stuart Mills and Finlay who has three pages of b/w photographs (4 images) taken by Stuart Mills. Slight grubbiness along outer spine else VG. Scarce Catalogue.

...

11 Aug TARASQUE 11 & 12.

Posted at 10:04h in Page Works & Contributions

Nottingham: Trent Bookshop, 1971) 20.4 x 16.5cM,, 48pp. with colour pictorial wrappers. A double number of this poetry/art magazine edited by Stuart Mills and Simon Cutts - this issue was the last published. and has concrete works by a number of artists/poets but mostly Finlay and Cutts the issue reprints a long letter from lawyers acting against Finlay in the Times Literary Supplement 25.9.69 relating to his legal action against Fulcrum Press and has Finlay's reposte to the letter (only published here we believe) including "If you were a poet, and President Nixon decided to publish you, would you support the Vietnam War?" Seven other poems by Finlay are reprinted and other letters and articles discuss him. A rather nice publication which sadly ended with this high point.

...

28 Feb FLAGS. 1971.

Posted at 16:19h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
12 x 16.6cm, 2pp. Black on cream with a drawing of various sweets much as one would find on a key sheet in a chocolate box. Some of the sweets however has been given a nautical feel (the rum truffle having a barrel on it being a reminder of how seamen would be given daily grog) or renamed after a boat eg Apricot Jam Boat. Below the drawing is a quotation: "To the initiated they bring almost instant meaning. it is doubtful whether flags will ever become obsolete no matter what advances science may offer." - anyone who has ever had a favourite chocolate (mine is cheery brandy) will know instantly which in a box to snaffle.
The car gives acknowledgment to Simon Cutts who had done similar "Flag" images in the 60s (and which were published in books that also anthologised Finlay). One of 500 printed. VG+.

...

08 Dec ALLOTMENTS. 1970. WITH SIMON CUTTS AND STUART MILLS. SIGNED & NUMBERED BY IAN GARDNER.

Posted at 10:35h in Artist's Books

Nottingham: Tarasque Press, 1970 10 x 15cm, 24pp plus card covers and printed dust jacket. An artists' book with three Ian Hamilton Finlay concrete poems, three by SImon Cutts and two by Stuart Mills - all illustrated by Ian Gardner. Finlay's contributions are DAISY chain (sic), Carousel and Windmills Winding Waters. The book is very hard to find and often missed in catalogue raisonnes of Finlay's work. The illustrations by Gardner are charming and somewhat minimal - Daisy chain is illustrated as an iron chain for an anchor as Finlay's poem uses the name of a boat - DAISY - to create the visual poem. This is one of 100 numbered and signed copies. Slightly rusted staples else VG+. Very scarce.

...

18 Feb POETRY 66. 1966. A FAKE POEM BY FINLAY.

Posted at 22:39h in Miscellany

Nottingham: Trent Book Shop, 1966
25.4 x 10cm, 6pp. Announcement and brochure for this small show of concrete poetry which showed works by dsh, Gael Turnbull, Jeff Nuttall, Hugh MacDiamidf, Bob Sobbing, Edwin Morgan, Jonathan Williams, John Furnival, Tom Clark, and others but NOT FInlay. There is a short poem reproduced which is ascribed to Finlay called “No Thank You, I Can’t Come” but was written by Simon Cutts which is a parody of the format of "Dancers inherit the party" and is a sly and funny dig at Finlay for not participating. VG although a former soft crease top left on the card. Very scarce.

...