After the Sackner Visit - Panel on Visual Poetry in Miami

Marvin Sackner discusses his collection with Richard Kostelanetz and Carlos Luis at Books & Books in Miami, Florida. The press info on the talk stated:

Richard Kostelanetz is a prolific author, critic, editor, and artist. Since the 1960's he has written and edited close to one hundred books, including Imaged Words and Worded Images (1970), Breakthrough Fictioneers (1973), Text-Sound Texts (1980), Wordworks (1993), and the monumental Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes (2nd ed., 1999). His essays, poems, fictions, and experimental prose explore the limits of language. He has also worked with various other media, including audio recordings, holograms, photographs, video and film, prints, and high-tech installations. Tonight, in a conversation with collector/physician Marvin Sackner and critic/gallerist Carlos M. Luis, RK will initially defend his continuing commitment to Visual Poetry as Words, mostly Words visually enhanced, and praise booksellers who also exhibit literary art. He will recall his publishing in media other than printed pages – not only prints and drawings but book-art, audio, video, film, and holography. Ranging as they will, they will respond to one another and to questions from the audience. RK will gladly sign any books of his presented to him.

Visit to Sackner Archive in Miami, Florida - November 2010

Last November I had a very hospitable visit with Ruth and Marvin at the archive of visual and concrete poetry. For many years they have held some of my work in their collection but this was my first in-person visit and meeting. I took photos to share. So far in my experience this is the largest archive I have ever seen (I have visited many) - worthy of a museum in of itself.

 

See more about the Archive on the Web: http://ww2.rediscov.com/sacknerarchives/Welcome.aspx

Artists Participate in Discovery Ride

Yesterday was an important milestone in art and in my own participation in NASA’s space program with the launch of the last manned shuttle Discovery heading to the Space Station. A reproduction of my work is included with a group of international artists aboard Space Mission STS-133 which departed the NASA Kennedy Space Centre at 4:50 pm EST.

A recent project was created by Gary A. Bibb, in collaboration with Cecil Touchon.  Fluxface in Space documents the entries by 127 artists from 26 nations to NASA’s public program whereas you could submit a photo and your name to be added to a microchip going along for the ride to the Space Station.

This wasn't my first participation with art in space but one of many "performances" on the theme - go to June 2010 entries in this blog to see more about past activities. 

Last September I arranged for a group of Fluxus artists to visit Kennedy Space Center, performing throughout the day. See the blog Inter-Florida FLUXUS Tour  for full documentation of the tour. During this tour we exhibited (and almost lost in weightlessness) a copy of the Fluxface in Space project.

Click here to see more about Fluxface in Space.

Chicago Fluxfest - My Participation Was in Abstentia

The "official" poster design.

Melissa McCarthy did "Bundle Up" performance score dedicated to me - wrapping up in layers of clothes to keep warm because of my thin Florida blood.

 This actually looks pretty close to what I look like when the temps dip down into the 40s here.

Troyart Show in Brazil

What a fun show! The Museu Brasileiro da Escultura in São Paulo, Brasil sent 500 artists one of several pre-punched robotic designs to assemble and decorate as they saw fit. The artists then returned them to the museum for an exhibition opening on Friday, January 14, 2011 and runs through to January 30th.  The show will then be part of the permanent sculpture collection.

To see the show online go to http://toymube.blogspot.com/  Below is my contribution:

Carbon Alternative Show Review

This is an article that ran in several local news outlets in South Florida.

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.