We're starting to get close to a final arrangement for the exhibition. All of these photos taken with a fish-eye wide-angle lens. There are still a few more spaces that are not finnished enough for photos just yet.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
More Photos from Collage/Assemblage Centennial Installation
Friday, August 17, 2012
Sneak Peek of one of the rooms of the Centennial exhibition
Room #1 of the Collage/Assemblage Centennial Exhibition
Monday, July 23, 2012
Zachary Scott Lawrence Stops in for a Visit
Zachary contributed to Fluxhibition #3 with the following box and was a participant in the book Natural Born Fluxus
Thursday, July 5, 2012
News at the Museum
The latest news at the museum... Tuesday, July 2, 2012 we purchased the the space at 262 Pagosa Street (Main Street) in downtown Pagosa Springs! Part of a multi-space building, the museum is a 1,230 square foot commercial space - the largest in the building. Not really big enough to be a museum with elbow room but a good start for storing and publicly exhibiting the collection. We have added a new assemblage/sculpture out in the front - a collaborative work by Cecil Touchon and James Ferrari using found materials. This will hopefully entice passersby to come in and look around.
During the summer we will be setting up most of the space as an art gallery with works for sale by artists in the collection. We have also been gifted with the use of an Epson 24 inch, large format printer from artist Clarissa Rizal which will be used to print reproductions of works in the collection that will also be for sale to help raise funds to keep the museum open.
Additionally we have invested in 8 new flat file cabinets for storing the works on paper in the collection and a computer dedicated to the museum as well as some used office chairs and wireless internet service.
After some experimentation during the spring we have decided to focus on the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction as the main identity for the museum space. (note the signage on the front door). It is still the home of the Fluxmuseum, the Archives of the Eternal Network, the Museum of Snapshot Photography and all the various organizational offices but in order to avoid constant confusion with townfolk and passers through, the Collage Museum seems the most easily understood.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Evening of Collage at Gustavo Ramos Rivera's Studio in San Francisco - Friday April 6th
Gustavo and ?
Dennis Parlante and Larry Strong
Matt Gonzalez with a collage
left to right: Cecil Touchon, Larry Strong, Karen Imperial, Matt Gonzalez
left to right: Cecil Touchon, Larry Strong, Karen Imperial, Matt Gonzalez
left to right: Cecil Touchon, Larry Strong, Dennis Parlante, Matt Gonzalez
Noor-un-Nisa Touchon working on a collage
We took a week off to take a trip out to San Francisco during Noor-un-Nisa's spring break. It was a very fast moving week with little time to relax, it seemed we were always on the go. The evening before we returned, an evening of collage making was arranged at Gustavo Ramos Rivera's studio who, earlier in the day had lunch with Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
I had the very good fortune to meet some great collage artists. Matt, Larry and Karen presented me with a number of collages of theirs for the museum collection and Matt also donated a collage by Theophilus Brown.
I'll post these once I photograph them...
Visit from Keith Pace - March 29, 2012
Museum contributor Keith Pace and his wife stopped into the museum for the afternoon on March 29.
in this photo Keith sits in front of one of his collages (made with an 'add and pass' work he received from Keith Buchholz.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Assemblings Exhibit Contributor Credit
I want to mention that a number of the assemblings in the show were generously donated by Elizabeth Concannon from Saint Louis, MO including the ART/LIFE Magazines, the Bambu Assembling, and the Tensetendoned Assemblings. These were all works acquired by Ms. Concannon through her participation in them.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Assembling Magazines - Stephen Perkins, 2012
Assembling Magazines
Assembling magazines represent a genre of publishing that has been a
consistent feature within the correspondence art network from the late 1960s to
the present, and their publishing model reflects the philosophy of this alternative
network.
The term 'assembling magazine' embodies an innovative publishing model that
first gained attention in the early 1970s with the publication of the American
periodical Assembling (1970-87). The editors of Assembling, frustrated at the
limited number of distribution outlets for experimental art and literature during
this period, responded with a periodical that had an open submissions policy.
Contributors were invited to "submit a thousand 8x11" copies of whatever they
wanted to submit."1 Once the submissions deadline had passed the 'editor' took
one work from each pile of artists' pages and literally assembled the magazine —
in the case of Assembling this was in an edition of 1000 copies. Typically each
contributor received one copy of the final periodical, and extra copies were sold
in order to recover some of the publishing & mailing costs. A year earlier in West
Germany, one issue of a similar magazine was published under the title Omnibus
News (1969). Significantly larger than the first Assembling, it included 117
contributors from 8 countries and was issued in an edition of 1500 copies. In his
introductory statement, Christian D'Orville, one of its three editors writes about
his interest in creating this Blattersammlung (collection of sheets) and the chance
manner in which this mass of heterogeneous material was brought together, as
well as its place within the alternative milieu of the period.2
My interest in OMNIBUS NEWS shows itself first in my curiosity
to discover what could develop out of the possibility of such
a sheet-compilation. The heterogeneous and the accidental,
the important and the unimportant. Moreover I am interested
in knowing whether there is the formation of a common tone,
of generalities and connections, or whether it might be silly to
even ask this...One thing is for sure: the experimental aspect of
OMNIBUS NEWS should through the conscious elimination of
conventional values and elimination of thematic directions, find a
place within the opposition to the official art world.3
In important ways these magazines invert the traditional publishing model:
editorial prerogative was abolished, and both editors and contributors become
collaborators in the publishing process. Equally important was the fact that
assembling magazines, with their democratic model, offered everyone the
opportunity to step onto the omnibus of experimental publishing.
This 'open' or non-juried model of periodical publishing has arguably been
most fully realized within the international correspondence art network. As
collaborative events, assembling magazines have served as important sites for
the transaction of community, as well as locations through which community can
accessed and replenished.
Assembling and Omnibus News are two landmark periodicals that emerge out of
the broader institutional critique developed by experimental artists during the late
1960s and 1970s.4 The adoption by the correspondence art network of this anti-
formalist publishing strategy has endured as an influential model for collaborative
exchange, and assembling magazines continue to be instrumental in activating
community across this decentralized network.
Stephen Perkins, 2012
Buy Dr. Perkin's
Assembling Magazines : International Networking Collaborations
Stephen Perkins, editor and curator
Iowa City, IA: Plagarist Press. 1997
Synopsis: Published to accompany an exhibition of assembling magazines at Iowa City's Subspace in 1996, this catalog offers a comprehensive bibliography of assembling magazines, books, and audio compilations from all over the world beginning in the early 1970s. With an introduction written by curator and editor Stephen Perkins. In English.
Pages: 64 p.
Stephen Perkins, PhD
Senior Academic Curator of Art
Lawton Gallery
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Ph: 920-465-2916<tel:920-465-2916>
em: perkinss@uwgb.edu<mailto:perki
________________________________________________________________
1. Kostelanetz, Richard. Assembling Assembling. New York: Assembling Press, p.14.
Assembling magazine's title is the term that was adopted to describe this genre of
publications.
2. The other two editors were Thomas Niggle and Heimrad Prem.
3. Christian d’Orville, “Marginal Comments,” trans., Curt Germundson, Omnibus
News 1 (1969): np.
4. The following two publications are good sources for further reading about the history of
assembling magazines.
Perneczky, Geza. Assembling Magazines 1969-2000. Budapest, Hungary:
Arnyekkotok Foundation, 2007.
Perkins, Stephen (editor/curator). Assembling Magazines: International
Assembling magazines represent a genre of publishing that has been a
consistent feature within the correspondence art network from the late 1960s to
the present, and their publishing model reflects the philosophy of this alternative
network.
The term 'assembling magazine' embodies an innovative publishing model that
first gained attention in the early 1970s with the publication of the American
periodical Assembling (1970-87). The editors of Assembling, frustrated at the
limited number of distribution outlets for experimental art and literature during
this period, responded with a periodical that had an open submissions policy.
Contributors were invited to "submit a thousand 8x11" copies of whatever they
wanted to submit."1 Once the submissions deadline had passed the 'editor' took
one work from each pile of artists' pages and literally assembled the magazine —
in the case of Assembling this was in an edition of 1000 copies. Typically each
contributor received one copy of the final periodical, and extra copies were sold
in order to recover some of the publishing & mailing costs. A year earlier in West
Germany, one issue of a similar magazine was published under the title Omnibus
News (1969). Significantly larger than the first Assembling, it included 117
contributors from 8 countries and was issued in an edition of 1500 copies. In his
introductory statement, Christian D'Orville, one of its three editors writes about
his interest in creating this Blattersammlung (collection of sheets) and the chance
manner in which this mass of heterogeneous material was brought together, as
well as its place within the alternative milieu of the period.2
My interest in OMNIBUS NEWS shows itself first in my curiosity
to discover what could develop out of the possibility of such
a sheet-compilation. The heterogeneous and the accidental,
the important and the unimportant. Moreover I am interested
in knowing whether there is the formation of a common tone,
of generalities and connections, or whether it might be silly to
even ask this...One thing is for sure: the experimental aspect of
OMNIBUS NEWS should through the conscious elimination of
conventional values and elimination of thematic directions, find a
place within the opposition to the official art world.3
In important ways these magazines invert the traditional publishing model:
editorial prerogative was abolished, and both editors and contributors become
collaborators in the publishing process. Equally important was the fact that
assembling magazines, with their democratic model, offered everyone the
opportunity to step onto the omnibus of experimental publishing.
This 'open' or non-juried model of periodical publishing has arguably been
most fully realized within the international correspondence art network. As
collaborative events, assembling magazines have served as important sites for
the transaction of community, as well as locations through which community can
accessed and replenished.
Assembling and Omnibus News are two landmark periodicals that emerge out of
the broader institutional critique developed by experimental artists during the late
1960s and 1970s.4 The adoption by the correspondence art network of this anti-
formalist publishing strategy has endured as an influential model for collaborative
exchange, and assembling magazines continue to be instrumental in activating
community across this decentralized network.
Stephen Perkins, 2012
Buy Dr. Perkin's
Assembling Magazines : International Networking Collaborations
Stephen Perkins, editor and curator
Iowa City, IA: Plagarist Press. 1997
Synopsis: Published to accompany an exhibition of assembling magazines at Iowa City's Subspace in 1996, this catalog offers a comprehensive bibliography of assembling magazines, books, and audio compilations from all over the world beginning in the early 1970s. With an introduction written by curator and editor Stephen Perkins. In English.
Pages: 64 p.
Stephen Perkins, PhD
Senior Academic Curator of Art
Lawton Gallery
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Ph: 920-465-2916<tel:920-465-2916>
em: perkinss@uwgb.edu<mailto:perki
________________________________________________________________
1. Kostelanetz, Richard. Assembling Assembling. New York: Assembling Press, p.14.
Assembling magazine's title is the term that was adopted to describe this genre of
publications.
2. The other two editors were Thomas Niggle and Heimrad Prem.
3. Christian d’Orville, “Marginal Comments,” trans., Curt Germundson, Omnibus
News 1 (1969): np.
4. The following two publications are good sources for further reading about the history of
assembling magazines.
Perneczky, Geza. Assembling Magazines 1969-2000. Budapest, Hungary:
Arnyekkotok Foundation, 2007.
Perkins, Stephen (editor/curator). Assembling Magazines: International
Assemblings: Opening Night
Photos from the opening night of Assemblings at 262 Pagosa Street (Pagosa Springs, Colorado). March 10, 2012 5:00-7:00pm
above Monica Green and furniture maker husband Cappy White owners of the local upscale fine craft shop Handcrafted Interiors
above: assemblage artist Monica Green with her daughter and mother.
above: on left patron Jerry Venn
above: My wife Rosalia serving food and drinks
above: Monica Green and Cappy White with daughter
above: Cookie Venn and grand daughter
above: Artist Ross Barrable soundscapesinternational.com
above: Artist Ross Barrable soundscapesinternational.com and artist Karina Silver karinasilver.com looking at issues of Art/Life Magazine donated by Elizabeth Concannon
above and below: my wife Rosalia manning the refreshments area
At the end of the evening Matthew Rose skyped in to digitally hang out with us from Paris, France. In all, about 50 people were in attendance which pretty much filled the space. The location was formerly designed as a high end real estate office with several small offices and a number of cubicles. However, for a small space - about 1,250 square feet - it works exceptionally well for exhibiting the scale of works in the collection which tend to be very intimate in size. All together, between collages, assemblages and the assemblings ephemera (postcards from a Book About Death, and multiples from the several assembling projects) an estimated 1,000+ individual works are currently on view. Much of the local audience was very excited to have the museum here in town though for nearly everyone it was a shock to see such a unique museum collection. No doubt it will take a while to locals to acclimate themselves to the depth and breadth of what the international artists' community have contributed to make the museum a unique resource of global arts culture.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Assemblings (Part One) – Inaugural Exhibition! From the Archives of the Eternal Network at the Ontological Museum (OM)
A Book About Death Installation
Assemblings (Part One) – Inaugural Exhibition! From the Archives of the Eternal Network at the Ontological Museum (OM) in Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Opens: March 10, 2012 and runs through April 15, 2012
Location: 262 Pagosa Street, Pagosa Springs, Colorado 81147 – tel. 817-944-4000
Opening Reception: Saturday March 10, 2012 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Winter Hours: Tues through Saturday 2:00pm - 5:00pm
On view will be a selection of Assemblings including Franticham’s Assembling Boxes from Ireland; Art/Life Magazine, Tensetendoned - We Absorb assemblings; Fluxkits from Fluxpress Saint Louis, Bamboo Assemblings, KART magazine (an assembling publication from Australia); Fluxlist Fluxbox; Post cards from the assembling: A Book About Death; selections from the Fluxcase Micro Museum. Additional related works from the Permanent Collection will also be on view.
What are Assemblings?
Assemblings are collections or compilations of works of art, multiples, objects, writings, visual poetry and/or ephemera submitted by a network of participants to a single hub where a central editor collates one copy from each artists' edition of submitted materials into a number of portfolios. A common practice is for the editor to then send back one folio or assembling of works to each participating member. Assemblings might be in the form of a box of loose materials, a bound book or magazine format, etc. or even be a collection of sound works or short videos. On view for this exhibit are examples of assemblings in box form, magazine format, an unbound book and as collections of objects. In fact the museum itself is an assembling in its own right.
History of Assemblings
Assemblings - as shown in this exhibit - have been created since the early 1960’s as artists, writers, and small independent printers worked on developing alternative, underground distribution networks for their experimental art and literature. As the art and literary worlds came to be controlled by powerful and well established business interests that, in essence, were seen as cultural gate keepers, the creative community experimented with direct mailings and other self-initiated ways to reach out to their collaborators and extended audiences; what we would call today niche markets based primarily on networks of people with similar interests. This kind of experimentation led directly to the establishment of the international Mail Art community known as the Eternal Network which celebrates its 50 year anniversary this year as does Fluxus, an amorphous group of artists that has been highly influential in developing the Mail Art scene in the 60’s and 70’s and on through to the present.
About the OM
The Ontological Museum, established in 1994 as an experimental art museum, opens it’s new space in Pagosa Springs with this exhibition. The museum houses an internationally focused collection of art that numbers in the tens of thousands of items and growing through direct donations of works from artists. The museum collects inclusively within the parameters of its mission that includes several interrelated fields: collage, assemblage and constructive art in general as well as works from the contemporary Fluxus and Mail Art communities and the art groups: The International Post-Dogmatist Group, The Massurrealist Group, the International Society of Assemblage and Collage Artists and the Neoist Society. Also in the collection are snapshot photography, visual poetry, small press publications, artist books, and the plethora of documentation, correspondence art and ephemera related to these communities and groups.
The Ontological Museum - now open in Pagosa Springs, Colorado - has been a mobile museum keeping works in storage and using exhibition spaces in various locations including commercial art galleries, university galleries, contemporary art centers and museums around the country. The founding director, Cecil Touchon, has curated fifteen+ museum exhibitions and published more than twenty-five related books and catalogs since starting the exhibition program in 2007.
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