Campbell, Ken, 1939-2022, Tilt, the black-flagged streets , [1988]
- Title(s):
- Tilt, the black-flagged streets / by Ken Campbell.
- Published/Created:
- [Oxford, England] : Ken Campbell, [1988]
- Physical Description:
- [62] p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsN7433.4.C35 T5 1988+ OversizeYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/3762289
- Classification:
- Books
- Notes:
- "It was the widest cast net, bring the most disparate things together in time, space, and being. It started with me being in Canada and writing a poem called 'Storm Song.' I also had in mind the vertiginous steps up to the old cathedral at Whitby [and] the black flag of anarchy and disturbance ... I [had] some old mounted lino blocks which were random-sized squares, black flags of different sizes, and some Albertus type, rather beaten up ... I went to Zürich ... and walked into the Museum Reitberg, up to a statue of Shiva, with limbs hanging out and in funny angles, and lightning in his/her hair in a big wheel of fire. I can remember this statue saying to me, 'I'm coming into your book.' I thought, what the hell has Shiva got to do with this book about 'Storm Song' and the Whitby steps and black flags? And I thought, well, I'll do as I'm told ... I drew the figure of Shiva, but with breasts, and realised it was a puppet that I was going to dismantle. I made a puppet out of zinc pieces; it is disassembled and rebuilt [through the book] ... and the poem is built up line by line and reassembled. A line of Albertus [type] is revealed between the black flags, which are then arranged in random ways ... Meanwhile the wheel of fire, of passion, is beginning to be cut from the arc. The decorative border reaffirms the rectilinearness of the page because of what I did to the cover, which was to make it wonky and tilted and disturbed."--Ken Campbell, from The word returned.
"Paving stones and the black flag of anarchy are represented by rectangular blocks that are used to contrast with the irregular format. Line by line a poem is exposed, and page by page Shiva is dismembered and reassembled in a hopefullly better place, free from the storm of passion."--Facing the page.
The cover boards have been cut at angles so that the text block appears to be tilted within. The slipcase is also cut at an angle.
Edition of 80. Printed letterpress in several colors from superimposed Albertus type, found lino blocks, and handmade zinc block. Metallic dusting and handwork. Black cloth binding with decorative paper boards in shape of trapezium, in slipcase.
Original archival material related to this work is available in the collections of the Yale Center for British Art, Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts (Ken Campbell Collection, MSS 25).
Facing the page: British artists' books : a survey 1983-1993. London, 1993, p. 34
Word returned: artist books by Ken Campbell, 9
BAC: British Art Center copy is no. 19 of 80, signed by the artist. - Subject Terms:
- Artists' books -- Great Britain.Campbell, Ken, 1939- PublisherShaped books -- Specimens -- Trapezium.
- Form/Genre:
- Artists' books -- Great Britain.
- Export:
- XML