This book certainly makes me happy

Murray GM February 3, 2019

I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness is a stunning piece by Kenneth Goldsmith produced by Urtext, under the imprint Eris (originally listed under Marginalia). As with others in the Marginalia series, it’s a type of meta writing. Goldsmith takes 60(ish) pages of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and in a side-by-side approach ‘annotates’ them. Each page is a work or art, a conceptual gem or an exploration. I love this quote from Goldsmith about his relationship with the Tractatus, which probably rings true for many of us:

“Although it has sat on my shelf for decades, I never actually read the Tractatus. But I always loved the idea of it…”

It’s an incredible object. It’s large format (measuring 26 x 35cm) and paperback binding give it an almost textbook/educational quality - but not in a banal way. The simple (no text) ombre cover is gorgeous and such a beautiful disguise for the opulence with in. Also, I’m loving the simple embossed mark for the imprint.

Find it or buy it here: https://eris.press/I-Declare-a-Permanent-State-of-Happiness

Something concrete

Murray GM January 3, 2019

On a visit to Portland I popped into a great little fashion/design boutique called Johan (as I can never resist anything Scandi sounding). I got chatting with the owner and found out she’d spent time in Malmö and Lund - small world. Then it got even smaller, all (at least a lot of) her books were supplied by The Idea of the Book who I know through the Letterform Archive. Anyway, as traveling I had to limit myself to just one purchase so grabbed; anthology of concretism edited by Eugene Wildman. Mostly because my shelves are severely lacking in the concrete poetry department. Here’s a taste:

So I decided to go some way to rectifying the shortage. The fabulous Red Fox Press (also discovered via Letteform Archive) recently issued a great set of small editions that included this little beauty from Derek Beaulieu. Love his Letraset work and his tendancy to give things away of twitter and IG. Also I particular love the packaging it came in, lovely touch.

A few more pics from Red Fox Press here: http://www.paperposts.me/posts/2017/11/24/letterform-archive-tables-of-pure-delight.

Shortly after I spotted that Derek Beaulieu had a Georges Perec related piece; L’Echec de Perec. Published by the wonderful French small press MA Bibliothèque, so I had to grab that and a few more items.

Thus 2018 bought with it a cascade of coincidences and connections so I thought I’d share them and start the year off on a solid, concrete foundation.

The wonderfully poetic Science of the Secondary

Murray GM January 17, 2016

Recently I was given this bumper bundle of the amazing Science of the Secondary, an atlas of things not yet discovered from Atelier HOKO and I've just spent a very rainy Sunday in SF devouring each of them. I have the first six issues and each one tackles a single object. They are beautifully indulgent and poetic design exercises. From the stock to the print quality, they have a wonderful tonality that perfectly balances the way each topic is handled.

The six issues are: Apple, Cup, Clock, Window, Door, Pipe.

Here are a few shots of the spreads. But it's more than the wonderful design, it's the tone of the content and the depth at which each idea is explored that makes them so exceptional. Truly wonderful, much thanks to Donald Farmer for sharing them with me.

Included along with the last three issues was Another Mad Afternoon at Home. This is a pack of 20 postcards or "instructions" for things to do and then send back to Atelier HOKO. My 20 (a random selection from 60 created) include the gems (an adults rainy day playbook):

#06 Open a window and let this card fall out of it. Describe its flight
#22 Without permission, touch a stranger's door for an extended period of time
#50 Press your ear against an exposed pipe. Listen. Imitate sound.

Should make for a loverly mail art piece when they collate the returned postcards.

2018 Update - here’s issue 9; The plate

Beautiful but Beastly Verse

Murray GM November 27, 2015

Picked up a copy of the beautifully illustrated Beastly Verse by JooHee Yoon. It's a lovely collection of rhymes and poems about animals by various authors. Each has one of Yoon's wonderful, layered and rich illustrations supporting it. Incredibly rich and sumptuous colour.

Available on amazon

Nate Denver's poems and songs

Murray GM June 23, 2015

Recently I visited McSweeney's in their office on Valencia in San Francisco. They share a space in the building that used to be home to the rather magical little book/art store Little Otsu. They have since moved to Portland, but it reminded me of this lovely little book I purchased there about 6 years ago. It's a book of 50 50 word poems by Nate Denver called Wait You're Not a Centaur. It's full of quirky imagery and thoughts, all accompanied by fun illustrations. What makes this extra special is the accompanying CD of songs. These follow the same fantastical themes as the book and are wonderful.

Three stand out tracks are Snuggle Tummy about a vengeful stuffed toy, 4 Horsemen about Slayer (mp3 here on Nate's site) and The Prince, the Queen and the Corpse about a ballet dancer who does a deal with a demon to get revenge.

Great stuff.

Lots more from Nate Denver here: http://www.natedenver.com/