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Archive for October, 2011

Oct 26

Seydel-Book-of-Ruth-Also-a-Pharmacology

Error is Arrow: A Conversation about the Work of Robert Seydel at Printed Matter

On October 21, 2011 Printed Matter in New York City hosted an evening celebrating Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel. Senior BOMB Magazine editor and poet Mónica de la Torre helmed a far-reaching and deeply insightful conversation about Seydel’s work with poet Peter Gizzi and artist Richard Kraft, both friends of Seydel since high school and college, respectively. (Bios and event info at the end of the post.)

The audio was recorded on an iphone and begins with Mónica de la Torre speaking just after a short introduction which included Siglio publisher Lisa Pearson reading Seydel’s preface (text below) from the Book of Ruth. After the preface, you can find the images that were referenced during the evening. The audio just below may take a minute or so to download.

PREFACE TO BOOK OF RUTH by Robert Seydel

As my hair dries my mind goes.
—Ruth Greisman

The Book of Ruth is concerned with two main characters, my aunt and uncle, Ruth and Sol Greisman, who were siblings, born in Brooklyn, New York. Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp put in minor appearances as friends to both of them. A fifth character, mostly invisible, is “Robt,” or Robert Cornell, Joseph Cornell’s homebound brother, or myself, nephew, and the “half-wit” of the Book. Neither Ruth nor Sol married; they lived together for the better part of their adult lives in a small apartment in Queens, New York, not far from the Cornell house on Utopia Parkway.

Sol (sometimes Saul) was in real life a veteran of the First World War and suffered, as it was later said, from shell shock. After the War he became a plumber. Ruth was a Sunday painter who worked days in a bank and was active in Hadassah. In the Book the two of them meet Cornell and, through him, Marcel Duchamp. Ruth fell in love with the former, who was, in his own way, as impossible and sealed-off as her brother.

Ruth is the artist in the Book, her work taking the form of mailings to Joseph, various serial and other collages, such as Ten Tiny Collages for Teeny, and journal writings. Her work was first discovered among the boxes of miscellanea in the Joseph Cornell Study Center at The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Later research by family members turned up a treasure trove of material in a garage in suburban Fort Lee, New Jersey. Ruth’s emblem is the hare, Sol’s the worm, or sometimes a star-nosed mole.


IMAGES REFERENCED DURING THE CONVERSATION


Siglio Ephemera: from 5 HARES & 3 RUTHS



One View of Robert Seydel’s Library (photo: Richard Kraft)


Collaged Text

On left, “Moth” and on right, “R. ‘Our Bob’” from Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel

“Yeg” from Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel


Seydel + Duchamp

“Also a pharmacology, for marcel” from Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel and featured in BOMB, Winter 2011

“Pharmacy” by Marcel Duchamp

“Marcel Duchamp, Par-Fume” from Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel


On Hares & Stains

“Untitled [Hare, Dürer-type]” from Book of Ruth by Robert Seydel


Seydel’s Desk at Richard Kraft’s Playa del Rey studio



Untitled (Sun) by Robert Seydel


Printed Matter Event Info & Participant Bios

Book of Ruth is available directly from Siglio press. Use code AMHERST for a 15% discount or sign-up for the Siglio mailing list to get special offers and discounts throughout the year. All images and text by Robert Seydel and photographs by Richard Kraft are copyrighted. Please credit any online usage appropriately and link back to this post. Thank you.

Oct 19

Nocturne (for R.S.) and A Ghost Card for Robert


A GHOST CARD FOR ROBERT by Peter Gizzi


What do you see when you see a dress sounding in
deep indigo, a head made of text, a paper halo torn
about the head.

•

What do you see when you see the shape of a hare
and a galaxy, a river and some rushes, when you see
the outline of hare and its positive adrift.

•

What do you see when you read from left to right, a
cartoon boy on a cartoon lawn, arms outstretched,
when you see the word SUN in block capitals over
there, a shaft of whiteout above the hare leaping into
an inked heart into a ghost boy into a green ray into
space.

•

You’ll see the red and blue shift, you’ll see orbiting
patterns, and now you see a woman buried in sepia
with child.

•

There is also a yellow star of construction paper, and
on it, a handwritten plus or a sign, the number 2 in
red ink, illustrations.

•

And what do you see when you see anatomical tubes
spilling paint into diaphanous patterns becoming a
page becoming a book, a wry smile, a dead man, a
spectacled creature and silver temples, a scuffing of
smoke above a magical head.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

An excerpt from NOCTURNE (FOR R.S.) by RICHARD KRAFT

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On October 21, 2011 at Printed Matter in New York City, artist Richard Kraft and poet Peter Gizzi will have a conversation, moderated by BOMB senior editor Mónica de la Torre, about Robert Seydel, his work, process, and influences. (The conversation begins at 6:30 p.m.) More about Robert Seydel’s Book of Ruth can be found at the Siglio website and here on the Siglio blog including an interview and a window into his library and reading.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nocturne (for R.S.) is a grid of 108 works on paper, currently on display as part of the installation Something With Birds In It by Richard Kraft, at the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.

“A Ghost Card for Robert” appears in the book Threshold Songs by Peter Gizzi, Wesleyan University Press, 2011.

All works copyrighted.

Oct 13

New Maps by Denis Wood: Barking Dogs May Have Names

Today Design Observer posted an excerpt from Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas by Denis Wood along with new maps by Denis—and images of the original survey forms used to collect the data. Design Observer also has some images of those forms which include categories that account for everything from hanging plants, clothes lines, lawn furniture, evidence of children and auto repair, to miscellaneous yard and porch “funk”.

The map of “Barking Dogs” was made using the data collected during the “Sound Walk” map (in Everything Sings), but the map (here below) of “Dogs” was collected separately. One aspect of Denis’s subversion of traditional cartography is to replace the uniform with the individual: just as he photographed the actual pumpkins on each porch for his Jack O’ Lantern map, he locates the dogs, often by name.

Copyright Denis Wood, 2011.

Oct 10

1 Comment

A truly dirty rotten book. A filthy weird book.

9-27-2011

A few months ago my daughter 14 years old was given a book for her birthday from my 55 year old nephew. My daughters name is Nancy. She was given “the Nancy Book” By Joe Brainard and it was published by Siglio Press Co. My nephew purchased this book on Craig’s list. He had no idea that is was a filthy weird book. My daughter has a collection of Nancy & Sluggo things and books by Ernie Bushmiller. This book was discusting — I showed the drawings and foto’s to my friends and their reaction was the same as mine. The book was wrapped in cellophane so we were unaware it was a truly dirty rotten book. Can you imagine a 14 year old girl getting a book like that for her birthday gift. I know Ernie Bushmiller has died, he would be astounded that this Joe Brainard copied his comic strip and made such trash out it.

I can not understand how you and your press company would publish such filth. The price of this book was $39.95. This was not works of art.

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