Page 60 - Studio International - September 1969

Pavilions rity of both artists and the public. of British Concrete Poetry (Lorrimer Press),
We cannot content ourselves with creating an exhibited his Telepoem; Alan Riddell, poet and
in the Parks annual festival. You asked us to write about editor and founder of the Scottish poetry
magazine Lines, exhibited fifteen concrete
Pavilions in the Parks this year. Pavilions in
the Parks is a platform for artists, this year or poems and posters; Tom Edmonds, the
never... painter, exhibits photographs of his glass
... 'With the lack of communication in the sheet poems and a long multicoloured visual
visual arts and wishing to achieve a greater typewriter poem; Ossie Jones, well-known
understanding by the spectator led us to photographer and primitive painter, exhibits
collaborate on the study of the possible ways his poster versions of Dom Sylvester Houé-
in which one can produce a state of aware- dard's poem; Brian Powney, painter and car-
Dear Studio International, ness in the participant. This state of awareness penter, exhibits three word-obscuring litho-
Another three-month scheme. Another art would enable visual communication to be- graphs; Jennifer Pike, sculptor and artist in
festival perhaps; an event housed in strange come more complete by breaking down his light, exhibits a mobile poem; Schuldt, the
dome pavilions. This summer it makes its inhibitions, and any preconceived ideas ... ' German Surrealist poet, exhibited two posters
appearance, not on a building site at Cheyne ANDRE R KLASSNIK and photographs of his object poems; Keith
Walk, Chelsea, but on a Wates housing PETER W MODERATE Martin, the artist and gardener, exhibits two
estate outside Croydon. Another enterprising water colour poems. There were live and
effort by six young artists to run the thing Introduction to music: an occasion in space recorded readings of the work of Cobbing,
themselves. It's good to know that we're not and time, occasioning performing and listen- Themerson and P. Mayer.
even disillusioned after two whole years of it. ing. Yours,
And once again we're presenting it to local Introduction to the composer: for the SU BRADEN
authorities as a direct and cheap way of composer.
bringing the 'live' performances and the non- Here there is a duty of respect and hence
performed work of artists to the public. there must be no physical effort by its breech.
The danger is that all the interested well- This is a solemn counterpart to the frivolity of
wishing critics forget that the art of this cricket as drama.
summer's randomly-selected pavilions' artists M CHANT
is not appearing in order to create a newsy 16 July, 1969
art-festival. Their appearance signifies what
will be the founders of 'Pavilions in the Parks' Explanation of the week of music (10-16/7/69)
last attempt to illustrate an alternative to the in Pavilions in the Parks, Addington, Croydon,
commercial outlets for artists' work. Pavilions Surrey.
in the Parks all over England would not do art His Light Circle—exhibited in the 'Pavilions
galleries, theatres and concert halls out of in the Parks'—was a simple pallisade circle of
business. They would simply offer works to three colours of neon, arranged in sequence,
the spectator, with no prior investment on with a sequential colour control, plus a proxi-
his part, other than that he should walk into mity colour control which registered the
a structure which he 'comes across' in a park. presence of a person within the circle and
The existing systems more generally encourage changed the colour sequence of the neon.
the spectator to 'go to see' a work, having ROGER DAINTON
first suggested to him that he will love what
he is 'going to see'. The commercial networks WOUP, like PIP, agrees: let every park have its
have, of their nature, to pay their way; they pavilions!
have to woo their public, to sell their public WOUP has the following members: Stefan
in advance. While this is the only system Themerson, the celebrated writer of funny
through which artists can find an outlet there philosophical novels; Polish Futurist film
can be on the one hand little room for true maker and the world's first semantic poet who
experiment on the part of the artist 'known' is exhibiting pages from his novel Bayamus and
or `unknown'; and on the other, hardly a the Theatre of Semantic Poetry (Gabor Bocchus) ;
chance for a new public to discover art at all, Edward Wright, a widely exhibited painter
without prior knowledge of it. and leading graphic designer who has enabled
We are not content to found an institution for many concrete poets to realize their projects,
weird three-month festivals on building sites showed a tinplate multiple 4 Catrina and two
and housing estates—interesting as these can drawings on the theme The gesture preceded the
be. The dignity of showing his work to the word; Bob Cobbing, Britain's leading sound
public in a way agreeable to him should be poet, exhibited graphic versions of his sound
the right of the artist just as it should be the poems as well as visual poems; Hansjorg
right of any individual to see what is available Mayer, one of the leading typographic poets
to be seen. The selection has already been in the world, is exhibiting some of his work;
made by the artist and the spectator may Peter Mayer, his unrelated namesake, a typo- Pavilions in the Park
select for himself. graphical journalist and the ideas man in Andre R Klassnik and Peter Moderate
Walk through painting: volume four
That such a statement should sound so pathe- the world's only advertising agency which Timber corridors, painted with fluorescent pigment;
tically obvious does not mean, however, that sells goodness but not goods, exhibited poems ultra-violet lighting
13 ft high; total area 440 sq ft
it is generally acknowledged. It would seem in the form of collages, mots trouves and see- 2
to touch at the roots of the doubt in which through-books; John Sharkey, experimental Pavilions being erected at Forestdale, Aldington 1969
3
those in authority and power hold the integ- poet and editor of the forthcoming Anthology Eventstructure 1969