School of Art, Media and Design, UWE Bristol:
19th May - 6th July 2003
David Kirby Paperboy Press
Licking Grit From a Polished Floor
Over the last few years, as earning a crust has eaten into my time for developing new work, some of my books have undoubtedly become more superficial. Others have had an extended gestation, but that's no bad thing. In no particular order:
"Camarata" is one that has been stewing for a number of years, gradually becoming more refined through the shedding of anxieties about what it was intended to do, and what the viewer would make of it. I am still not completely satisfied with it, but its about time it saw the light of day.
"Veneer" was produced for the Artist's Book Year Book, 2001/2002, and uses that publication as a location to disseminate a text that is now permanently locked in its ceramic and resin cases.
"Free-ad Poetry" is another idea based on the same theme. Classified adverts are placed in our local 'Free-ads' paper in the form of poems. Or poems are placed in our local 'Free-ads' paper in the form of classified adverts. Result? (mostly) free publishing. (They sometimes get spotted and rejected...!)
"Suite for Bob Cobbing" was produced shortly after I read of his death in the 'Wire' magazine. I first saw him perform at the London Artist's Book Fair at the Barbican in 1996 or '97. Sadly I never said anything more intelligible or intelligent to him than "I really admire your work", which roughly translates as "I wish I had the balls, integrity and vision to perform the way you do". Nevertheless these images were a spontaneous response to the passing of a mightily impressive artist.
"Urban Wildlife" is a whimsical meditation based on the song by Tom Lehrer, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". It goes no deeper than that. The "Silt" series ran as an occasional magazine for a couple of years. The format was designed to allow myself and a couple of other people to produce work, simply as a way of keeping our hand in while our lives were still fluttering in the backwash of post-grad studies, finding 'real' jobs and generally settling down. It is naturally patchy, but charming nonetheless. Just like a typical British summer lawn. "Ritual & Circumstance" was knocked up as a one day batch/edition project. It is intended as no more than a 'calling card'.
"Imperative Future (IF)" was produced for the UWE/CFPR contribution to the 2003 conference of the Southern Graphics Council (USA), 'Making Histories: Revolution and Representation', held in Boston, Mass. 2nd - 5th April.
For more information on this, or any of the Artists Book Events at CFPR, please contact:
Research Associate for Artists' Books
Centre for Fine Print Research UWE, Bristol
Faculty of Art, Media and Design
Kennel Lodge Road
Bristol
BS3 2JT
UK
Tel: +44 (0)117 344 4747
Fax: +44 (0)117 344 4824
Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk
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