FeMail Artists - West Coast Correspondence Art School

There is some discussion about where this was taken but it is late 80s. I know because I am wearing a fave work outfit. Think it was Judy Hoffberg who took the  photo.

The Most Dada Thing: Neo-Dada in San Francisco

Tuesday, November 1, 2016 through Saturday, December 31, 2016
San Francisco Public Library, Skylight Gallery, 6th Floor, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California, 94102

The San Francisco History Center's SF Punk Archive and Book Arts & Special Collections are pleased to present The Most Dada Thing, an exhibition of artifacts left behind by the Bay Area Dadaists and the creators of Inter Dada 84. Inter Dada 84 was an internationally attended celebration of the spirit of DADA. It took place over seven days in Sept, 1984 in multiple SF locations, showcasing performances, videos, films, mail art, photography, lectures and carousing.

As part of the SF Dada World Fair my collection of Inter DADA 84 posters, publicity cards, etc and a selection of mail art are on exhibit at the SF Library's 6th floor Skylight Gallery. It will be available to see through December 31st. Check out the photos at the blog.

Also the book InterDADA84: True DADA Confessions is for sale at City Lights Books or at my online store. Videos are at the Interdada 84 blog.

This exhibit is sponsored by the San Francisco History Center’s SF Punk Archive and Book Arts & Special Collections.

 

Video of The Site a Live at SFAI

The Site a Live from Minoosh Zomorodinia on Vimeo.

San Francisco Art Institute Show

 

"It was quite a success overall for everyone! Even the school president came by and said it was great. The photographers are Dio Chen, Minoosh Zomorodinia, Eva Recinos, and Lisa Boling (me). Also all the graphic marketing stuff was designed by me, the photos in the marketing materials were taken by Alex Molinari." Lisa Boling, curator

The following are selections from my work:

 Art in Space - 1984 event/performance

DADA On Your Own performance - from Inter DADA 84

  

H'Art Attack reenacted - from Storefront project in 1981

 

 

Ex Postal Facto Videos

See videos posted in the sidebar.

Artists and their stamps was the second Ex Postal Facto discussion. Black Rock City Postmaster James Cline is joined by Ginny Lloyd, James Felter, and Harley of Terra Candella in a lively discussion moderated by Jennie Hinchcliff.
A brief history of West Coast mail art, as told by the people who made it. John Held Jr. leads a panel featuring Anna Banana, Leslie "Creative Thing" Caldera, Carl Chew, and performance artist Lowell Darling.

Sponsored by the Marjorie G. and Carl W. Stern Book Arts & Special Collections Center.

Ex Postal Facto 2014 Lecture Participant

Jennie Hinchcliff has organized a three day celebration of correspondence art, letter writing, and faux philatelics. The “Ex Postal Facto” conference will be held February 14th to February 16th, 2014, in San Francisco at venues around the city.

Kicking off the conference February 14th, the San Francisco Center for the Book hosts an opening reception for their exhibition “Mail/Art/Book.” Showcasing pieces by contemporary artists working in the genre of correspondence art, the exhibition also provides a historical perspective of Networker/ postal culture in the bay area.

The following day (Feb. 15th), a vendor expo will be held at the historic downtown San Francisco Elks Lodge, featuring small press publishers and artists whose work highlights faux postage (a.k.a “artist stamps”), postal art, and/or letter writing.

Rounding out a weekend of events, the San Francisco Main Library hosts two different lectures in the Koret Auditorium.  I will be participating in the lecture titled "Artistamps and Their Makers: Seeing the World in Miniature" will feature artists working in the field of faux philatelics, also known as "artistamps". The work of James Cline (Founding Postmaster, Black Rock City Post Office), James Felter (Postes Mraur), Harley (Terra Candella), and me, Ginny Lloyd (Gina Lotta Post Artistamp Museum) will be highlighted. The lecture will be moderated by correspondence artist and Ex Postal Facto organizer Jennie Hinchcliff.

For more information on the Ex Postal Facto 2014 conference, please visit ex Postal Facto

Photo Selected for Book Cover

"The striking photo on the cover of Fairyland looks like it could have been taken one hundred years ago. It gives a sense of the otherworldly childhood that Abbott recounts in this memoir about growing up with her openly gay, single father in San Francisco in the nineteen-seventies and eighties."
- The New Yorker  June 2013

"The cover photo is perfect. Not since Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has a photo so well captured the complex themes of a nonfiction book."  "I must also say that the book's cover is wonderful both before and after you read the memoir--the father and his brave daughter dressed up for a night out in fairyland." - Amazon UK reviews

A best seller written by my friend Steve Abbott's daughter Alysia, Fairyland is a beautiful, vibrant memoir about growing up motherless in 1970s and ’80s San Francisco with an openly gay father. I write about other collaborations with Steve and his SOUP Magazine and how he introduced me to poets, comics and comix artists in an earlier post (June 2010 post) on this blog. 

I took the cover photo in Golden Gate Park at the Portals of the Past on Lloyd Lake as one of several in a surrealism influenced series. I frequently used locations in the park to photograph, using friends as models in incongruous attire. Steve needed a cover photo for his poetry book Agape Bra and liked the other photos he'd seen. He invited me to take some photos in exchange for photo credit and exposure. In early morning light at a location I knew well, we arrived with Nikon and tripod, "costumes," and a sleepy 10 year old. Allowing for room for the title text and trying out different shots, this was the photo I chose. Steve agreed. In reality, with new agreements with Alysia and the book press it became the cover photo used on two different books. 

In the present, I look forward to seeing the promised photo credits when it is used in articles and publicity.

The book is available from W. W. Norton Company press at all major book outlets.

UPDATE from Deadline Hollywood on December 16, 2013: American Zoetrope has acquired screen rights to Alysia Abbott’s Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father, with Sofia Coppola set to adapt it with Andrew Durham. She will produce with Roman Coppola.

“I love the book Fairyland; it’s a sweet and unique love story of a girl and her dad, both growing up together in 1970′s San Francisco,” Coppola said. “I think it will make an engaging and touching movie on a subject I’ve never seen before.”

Said the author: “I’m delighted that Sofia Coppola and Zoetrope are going to create the film version of Fairyland. Sofia’s understanding of the feminine perspective and the artistic vision that she shares with Andrew Durham make them ideal partners to make this movie. I could not be happier.”

SFMOMA's Receipt of Delivery: Art in Space Launch ’84

A couple of my "art in space" projects from the 80's are featured in this San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's blog at Receipt of Delivery: Art in Space Launch ’84. Inter-DADA 84 is also given a little coverage.

There's lots more about these projects on this here blog. Or check out the links at the bottom of the SFMOMA blog. Honored to be the lead story within such good company.

NY Art Book Fair 2012: Video Interview by Jennie Hinchcliff

Thanks to Red Letter Day aka Jennie Hinchcliff for providing this video. She made this to show to her book arts students. Google TropiChaCha Press to find out more about the books or contact Ginny directly.

Behind The Monthly Scene

The Monthly was banned by the San Francisco print companies in the early ‘80s. Yes, liberal, accepting of all things unusual San Francisco was not so hip in the print industry. I could not find anyone to offset print the first two issues because, “We don’t print content like this.”

 

Upon questioning what in the publication’s content these guys did not publish, it came down to the politics that was not agreeable. The Monthly was perceived to be a radical feminist and/or lesbian publication by the printer trade. Whereas, neither of the contributors thought it was political at all!

Becoming more determined to get the issues out into the art public, the Xerox copier was used to print the first two issues. Finally when the third issue was ready a friend referred me to a print company owner who was a Grateful Dead fan who would accept it for print…but there was a condition. I would have to understand that the pressman might be opposed to the job and the owner would not be able to control him.

So what did that mean exactly?

I asked to meet with the pressman to ask him personally if he found the content offensive. Upon his inspection of the galleys he agreed to run the job.

A week later I went back to pick up the completed zines and was surprised to receive a pile of layout boards with the waxed on text and finely tuned originals showing visible footprints. Also they were falling apart as if they’d been thrown across the room. The artwork was generally an overall mess. Plus I could only get the artwork returned when the printed copies were paid for, regardless of whether I liked the resulting job with the messy lines and paste-up marks.

So the third issue of The Monthly is a testament to those early zine days, before the print profession had to change its ways in more than attitude.

NYC Artists Book Fair

Anticham and Francis of Redfox Press, Ginny, Sticker Dude aka Joel Cohen.

Here we are again with Mark Bloch (Panman) added to the crew.

Ginny and Francis with his silkscreens on the wall.

I love books! I have since I was a kid, before I could read I loved to look at books. I read anything and everything in the house. I came to believe I could learn to do anything if I could find something in print on the topic. I also believe you can become anything, as long as you can find the instruction manual.

 I have written a sizable number of instruction manuals for corporate clients and their employees/customers and developed training programs for the same. But I digress into a different "blog". I went up to NYC for this fair for several reasons. When I heard about it I knew I had to....see the books (what is happening now in artists books?), look for publisher leads for a planned artistamp book, meet Anticham and Francis, get to see their books first hand, and go tot he MOMA for a good modern art fix.

I was not disappointed. After getting my room squared away - unbelievably the hotel was sold out and did not have my reservation!! Adding to the stress of this, their internet access was down so I could not quickly find another. But that ended up with them putting me into a suite, reserved for this type of issue, the manager said. (Does this happen often?)

I spent my first afternoon at MOMA and dinner, then over to see Bill Wilson, the Ray Johnson and May Wilson art collector. Bill and I have only met in person once before but it is as though I've known him for years. Well I could have, since we grew up across the river from each other on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. A long way from international artists book art, mail art, FLUXUS, artistamps and more. It's a rural, small town Southern culture we're from and we share a few historical connections that is for another story. Southerners like to talk about family history when they get together.

Kitchen Fluxkit by George Maciunas

Yoko Ono Fluxus Score

Wonder photo of Potatoes Flying by (don't remember)

Bill and Ginny

Bill Wilson

The book fair was huge - 3 stories of a former school filled with books; their makers and publishers ready to answer questions and sell you copies. It took 2 days for me to take it all in. The crowd Saturday afternoon was so thick you could barely move. Nevertheless it was wonderful to see how much artists books as an art form has grown. I recall my first book fair in Frankfurt where artists books were the rarity put in one corner. No longer.

On the third floor I discovered the zines and alternative books. And to my surprise, several booths of artists from San Francisco. We had lots to talk about and I shared my own zine history with several of these folks. One requested an interview for the SFMOMA which I gladly granted. I met a couple zine artists who looked younger than my grown grandchildren. I laughed as they did a double-take when I admired their zine art while I told them I used to make zines. I guess their grandmother doesn't make zines? I also saw works by Ulises Carrión and a $1,000 artistamp sheet by General Idea for sale.

Mark and Ginny

Antic and Francis

The Redfox Press booth was very popular. The output by Francis and Anticham has both quality and consistency, enough for them to make a living and do their international travel for the fair circuit. The suit of books by both of them and the guest artists were wonderful to see spread out amongst two long tables. Joel Cohen (Sticker Dude) was on hand to sign books, and played the guitar for the crowd. See the books in the video below.

JES Archives

I met Jesse Edwards at the Copy Art Exhibition when he purchased several pieces that were in the show (see info at Copy Art Exhibition). He was not what you would think of as far as art collectors go in that he was young, hip and knew a lot about local art in what many collectors and critics would consider "marginal" arts. He was a dead ringer for a Dennis Hopper look alike. Jesse knew what he liked and was a prolific buyer. A couple of his local favorites were S Clay Wilson (previous post Poetry - Comix - Comics ) and stencil artist Scott Williams. Before I left for Europe he asked me to call him when I returned.

I began working for a few hours a week as a consultant for Jesse, first setting up a database of artists and artworks and second introducing him to the artists I knew locally and internationally.  He introduced me to a few artists he had been collecting. I think Clay and I surprised him when he found out we knew each other since we weren't in what Jesse knew as the same art circles. When Clay said he's been to my house several times I think Jesse thought we were kidding. I advised Jesse on archival storage methods I had learned through photography. I encouraged him to give his collection a name and to have a business card at the minimal for giving out to the artists I was bringing in to meet him. Georgina designed a card and I suggested the list of names of who was included in the collection to be added to the back.

Later, for mailing purposes, Jesse wanted a postcard to send out. After seeing a set of postcards I had made using computerized photo booth images, Jesse selected the image in this well known card to go with his JES Archives information.

Because Jesse loves to know how things are made - the card was made from a photobooth image taken in Europe run through a video camera attached to a computer and dot matrix printer printout. Then resized on a copier, overlayed with Rubylith for the color separations made by hand, and printed full color. The background was Letrapress film screening and the text was a computer printout. This is a process made virtually obsolete by current computer graphic design capabilities. In its day it was an unusual image.

Jesse supported many Bay Area artists and promoted much of the art scene in the 80s. He helped InterDADA 84 artists by sponsoring the hostel. He and Georgina moved to southern California and opened a successful store on the Venice Beach boardwalk, selling Asian imported jewelry and wearable items. Years later they sold the store and now travel extensively.

I was always treated like a member of the extended family by Jesse and Georgina. We stay in touch today via the Internet. As far as where the collection is now I think Jesse is weighing several options. I'm grateful for having had the opportunity to make a contribution to the arts and helping many artists by introducing them in the early years to JES Archives.

Correspondence ART

This is a book I had the privilege of working on as a consultant to Carl Loeffler (publisher). This book was written by Michael Crane and Mary Stofflet. To begin with this was an amazing undertaking Mary and Michael took on and accomplished. In any book on Mail Art there is a mass of people and minimal documentation of some of the works and artists making it more time consuming than most books.

Art in Space Launch Press

Art in Space Launch - 1984

Art in Space Launch was a live performance event held outside of San Francisco with Sam Samore, Aron Ranen, Mike Mages and some help from Walter Alter. Our purpose was to send art into space for the first time.

We knew it was controversial and probably illegal but we decided as a group to move forward. We devised a plan to put out posters and news to gain an audience. To get the city off of our backs if they got upset when they saw the news, we would designate a location and apply for a permit, going through the proper channels. Of course we expected a decline and arranged to send people to a construction site outside city limits. At the last minute the "very nice" city permit department called to say we couldn't do the launch and wanted to hear what we were going to do about it.

I responded with something like, " Oh no! We'll have to just do it anyway."  The police arrived at the park with paddy wagons ready for a surly group (as reported by our map and shuttle crew) but we were gone by then.

Sam continues his visual art works, Aron teaches documentary video and is best known for Did We Go? claiming the moon landing was a hoax, Mike is an engineering manager at Apple Computer and Walter is a experimental artist (you can see more about Walter on my InterDADA 84 blog).

Photos are by Steve Caravello except for the close cropped ones are by Catz Robmaw, and the last image is by Judy Dater.

If your art was on this first launch and you didn't get your certificate let me know where to email it.