Page 58 - Studio Internatinal - October 1974

Contributors magazines reterred to in the preceding originale — please forget this message — on, the first Arts Lab was just getting
paragraph in a detailed 'Reviews' ineffectual student art groupies — off the ground, initiated by Jim Haynes
Clive Phillpot is Librarian at Chelsea section. The current issue is devoted to collage or perish — homage to Ben is in Drury Lane, a short walk east of
School of Art, London ... Malcolm Le 'the Treated Text' and the ramifications homage to art — les oeuvres d'art sont Better Books. Within the Arts Lab,
Grice is a film-maker and teaches at St of this topic are explored by Nicholas des dechets de vie — I am glad when I David Curtis, an artist and writer at
Martin's School of Art, London ... Zurbrugg in his introduction. He can stamp — etc. etc. Some artists, that time just out of the Slade, began a
John A. Walker is an artist and writer contrasts conventional verse making in notably Beuys with his two cinema with the intention of showing
... Paul Martin teaches sculpture at which poets 'treat' certain 'verbal ubiquitous and elegant stamps, leave all the experimental films he could lay
Goldsmith's College, London ... units selected from the entirety of impressions as personal endorsements, hands on. Curtis was one of the few
Micheline van Lier is a freelance Belgian language at their command' with the while Urban uses them on selected people around in London at that time
writer ... Andrew Hudson teaches at activity of creators of 'treated texts' images as standard frameworks for who was informed about the 'new'
the Corcoran School of Art, Washington who 'may be seen to poetically and variable annotations. underground direction of cinema in
... David Brown has recently been aesthetically 're-treat' certain verbal Many of the artists use found America and he was determined to
appointed Assistant Curator at the units re-selected from those already stamps, chiefly of animals, Disney show whatever he could of this work,
Tate Gallery, London ... Gunther selected and treated verbal units that characters, and the like from children's interspersed with the few avant-garde
Review 2
Wirth is a journalist living in Stuttgart form a pre-existing text'. The games, but also miscellaneous films in the British Film Institute
... Norman Ackroyd is a print-maker contributors to this issue divide fairly advertising and business images; catalogue, and the best classic films
and teacher at the Central School of equally into concrete poets (including however, since stamps can be made from the commercial cinema.
Art, London ... Fenella Crichton is Finlay, Houedard, and Morgan) and from practically any design, many My own involvement at that time
London correspondent of Art visual artists (including Phillips, Ruscha, favourite images have been rubberized, was with the Arts Lab, where Curtis
International... Tony Rothon is a Tilson and Weiner). Also included are a Geza Perneczky even made his own showed some of my first films. Having
painter and freelance writer ... Penny few collages or drawings by Dada stamps from 'little objects found on work shown in a public screening place
Hawkins is a painter living and working artists: Janco and Hoch are represented the occasion of a promenade on the was a great stimulus to myself and
in London ... Caryn Faure-Walker is a by works many years old, but both bank of (the) Rhein', and impressions other intending film-makers. With
freelance writer on art... lames Faure- Richter's and Hausmann's contributions of a toy plane, a plastic spoon, a bottle Curtis and an American called Ben
Walker is a painter ... Judy Marie is a date from the 'seventies, the latter also top and other jetsam are included in Yah-Yah, I worked on the establishment
freelance writer ... has a prose piece in this issue. Stereo the book. of a co-operative film workshop, and
Headphones is the best designed of all En masse these impressions are this when we discovered our similarity
these magazines, the style of layout entertaining in their typographical and of aims with Better Books led to an
Feedback and the sans serif typeface provide a pictorial diversity, and it was a good inevitable liason and eventually a
Poetry Information is an unusual harmonious context for the idea to gather them together; however fusion between the two groups — the
magazine in its emphasis on predominantly visual content, whether when they are captured, mounted and Co-op subsequently showing its films
information, the double number 9/10 diagrams, photographs or reproductions. labelled they lose something, for their regularly at the Arts Lab Cinema.
for Spring 74 divides into two main Number 6 also publishes some sharp lifetime is the lifetime of a postcard or At the end of 1968, it became clear
parts: the first half includes articles on exchanges over the history of concrete an envelope not a book, and they only that the Drury Lane Arts Lab was
poetry in Latin America as well as some poetry in letters from Chopin (H.), really come alive winging their way 'over', and a move was prepared. In the
general articles, most of which are Bann, Cobbing and Mayer. Stereo through their true element, the postal Summer of 1969, the second London
succeeded by useful bibliographies, Headphones 6 is available from system. Arts Lab was opened in Robert Street,
while the latter half concentrates on Nicholas Zurbrugg, Church Steps, Clive Phillpot near Euston Station, and another
information and commences with a Kersey, near Ipswich, Suffolk, at £0.60 cinema was built, again to be run
'Poetry Index' which indexes 'articles + 10p postage (or $2.50 + 50c postage). mainly by David Curtis, and again with
and longer book reviews extracted from Vision regular screenings of Film Co-op work.
periodicals, mostly British but some Although I have often referred to The Co-op at this time had its
American'. This is followed by a films shown at the London Film- distribution office in the same building,
'Review section' which provides name, makers Co-operative, I have never and in the same year I was finally able
number, address, price, contents and written about the Cinema itself or its to materialize my own main ambition
comment for 34 little UK magazines, history. At a point when it has just of a work-shop for the Co-op, equipped
then similar details for 66 books of begun to move into a new phase, with with professional printing and
verse from small presses plus a few a new organizer Annabel Nicolson, it developing equipment — made possible
anthologies and exhibition catalogues, seems a good time to rectify this. by a loan from a benevolent individual.
then details of 17 little magazines and Another publication dealing with In one form or another, the LFMC This period of stability for the
20 books of verse from the US and the conjunction of verbal and visual Cinema has been running for about distribution office, the workshop and
Canada. The next section, which images is Art et Communication eight years. There have been short the cinema did much to establish us as
includes magazines, pamphlets etc., is Marginale, Tampons d'Artistes by Herve breaks, mainly due to moving to a strong organization, and formed a
entitled 'Experimental Poetry, Visual Fischer (F48 from Editions Andre different locations, and at some times real centre for a new group of
Texts, International', and represents Balland, 33 rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts, the cinema which has been used for experimental film-makers. The library
the area where poetry and the visual 75006 Paris). Before non-French the Co-op films has not been strictly of films increased greatly, including
arts coalesce. Finally there is an ongoing readers leap to the conclusion that speaking run by the Co-op itself. There new British work and many important
list of information sources (including this is a manifestation of feminist body is, however, a fairly continuous history American works.
'Feedback'!), plus a list of UK art, I had better give the English title: — the Co-op providing the only The two periods of the Arts Lab
bookshops for 'people interested in Art and Marginal Communication, regular screenings of avant-garde films cinema, 1966 to 1968 in Drury Lane
buying (small press) books/mags'. Rubber Art, Stamp Activity. Just to throughout this period. The Co-op and 1969 to 1971 in Robert Street
Poetry Information certainly lives up make it quite clear, this is an anthology Cinema really began in two ways saw a continual increase in the
to its moniker; it is edited by Peter of impressions from artists' rubber almost simultaneously; the Co-op proportion of the programme given
Hodgkiss and is available from 17 stamps, some intended as unlimited proper began in 1966, largely as a over to avant-garde work, and where
Carlingford Road, London NW3 1 RY, expendable art works, some as parts of development from Bob Cobbing's possible to one-man shows with the
at £0.80 or $4.50 for four issues. art works, while others are simply experimental film society, 'Cinema 65', film-maker present. When Robert Street
Kontexts 5 is categorized in Poetry endorsements for communications. The which he ran as a part of the activities was closed for demolition in 1971, the
Information as an experimental poetry book is a well-designed paperback of of Better Books. The screenings took Arts Lab did not try to reform and the
magazine and indeed much of the just under 250 pages; the first 50 place in the Better Books basement in Film Co-op again took on the whole
content is primarily visual, and includes pages include an introduction by Charing Cross Road. In a collaboration task of screening, distribution and the
work by such artists as Breakwell, Herve Fischer in French, English and which included Cobbing, cineastes John workshop. In 1971 it moved to its
Mayer, Cobbing and many others, as German and short texts in English by Collins and Philip Crick, and the film present premises, the Dairy in Prince of
well as a piece each by the editors of Ken Friedman and Jiri Valoch, the critic and author Ray Durgnat, the Wales Crescent, London NW1. Again
two other poetry magazines, Peter rest of the book is devoted to notion of a co-operative based on the there was a massive clean up and
Finch (Second Aeon) and Jeremy documentation of the activity of New York Film-makers Co-op developed rebuilding job to be done, and the
Adler (Ab); interesting how much nearly 150 artists and includes and was put into practice. The main third cinema to be 'hand-built' with no
cross-pollination of this kind goes on, photographs of variously franked difference between this and 'Cinema money was completed, using the same
makes one wonder if this is not an letters, envelopes and art works, but 65' was the intention of beginning a portable projectors which were used
undeclared editors' issue with all the mainly the impressions themselves. collection of films for distribution. As from the beginning at Drury Lane, and
contributors working away editing The first artist represented, Karel there were very few experimental which are still in service. From then
their own magazines as well. Kontexts Adamus, is atypical in that his rubber film-makers in London at that time, until June this year, the cinema was
5 also carries reviews and notes about stamps are on the soles of his shoes, and not all of them knew of the Better run by Peter Gidal, with technical
other publications, and costs f0.35 or these are collages of rubber letters and Books group, the earliest works to be assistance from David Crosswaite. The
$1.00 from the editor, Michael Gibbs, numbers which he then imprints onto a deposited with the Co-op came from policy of increasingly showing new
31 Pinhoe Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 pebble beach for example, leaving the Creative Film Society in Los work is made possible by the amount
7H5. 'poem objects' in his wake. Most of the Angeles, Kurt Kren in Austria and of work being made in London and the
Stereo Headphones 6, Summer artists use stamps to impart slogans or Steve Dwoskin an American who has continual depositing of work by
1974, shares a few contributors with enigmatic phrases, e.g. give us this day lived and worked in London from just American film-makers. The cinema has
Kontexts 5 and discusses all four our daily dada — d'apres la copie before that time. Whilst this was going always had to pay its way, and has