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The Netherlands
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The Library Moves 3/11/2011
Facsimiles
(Covers of) Facsimiles bequeved to the Mary Shelley Facsimile Library. The library (which is an annex of the Werkplaats Typografie library) contains copies of essential texts relevant to each student's thesis. The Mary Shelley Facsimile Library is intended to be an ever growing resourse for current and future Werkplaats Typografie students. As part of the New York Art Book 2011 the library was relocated and opened to the public for the first time in a temporary reading room.
"I Only Came Back to This Craphouse to Find Out Who Did It..."
Get Carter (1971), 11/10/11.
Alma's Last Day
(Transcript of an email sent 03/09/11)
Tonight, after 34 years Alma will close the doors of the Shoe Box for the last time, marking the beginning of a life of retirement. The shoe shop is on my route home in Thirsk. Over the years, what attracted me to look through the shop's large windows was not its stock, but the vast array of posters announcing sales, new stock and other shop related information. Predominantly A4 or A3 in size, the announcements appeared to be made with Microsoft Word Art. In combinations of capitals, lower case, outlines, colours and sizes these posters are in stark contrast to the posters of the nearby Stead and Simpon's shoe shop (a chain store with numerous outlets throughout the country). The Shoe Box posters seem colloquial and conversational; they were as I imagined Alma to be.
I did meet Alma once last summer. It was because of the shop's retirement sale (which oddly enough has lasted all the way to today). She had 'had enough', according one of the banners in the shop window. With the Shoe Box seemingly days from closure, I found it the perfect opportunity to get a hoard of these posters which I had passed over the last 8 years.
"Why do you want all the posters?" She asked.
"I think they are beautiful." I replied.
I wondered if Alma had received such a strange request in all her years running the Shoe Box, but she was more than happy to part way with all the posters that she could find behind the counter. Alma explained that the posters were made by a friend and printed and laminated at the copy shop around the corner. Most grateful, I left the shop with a large stack conveniently placed in a Shoe Box fabric bag. The edges of the laminated posters are still tacky due to the tape used to attach them to the window. The collection shows the yearly cycle of the shop, from the new years day sale to the summer, winter and bank holiday sales as well as showing glimpses of the items sold at the shop. In January 2010 a parking charge was introduced in the town and even this found its way into the posters, a kind of document not only to the Shoe Box but of Thirsk itself.
I wonder how many posters Alma's friend had to make to replace the ones I took to Arnhem for the remaining year of the retirement sale. Secure in a box under my desk, the posters have not seen the light of day much as they once did, but today is an exception. From Monday 5th September, the shop will be taken over by Lee Morpeth and Paula Ably with the assistance of Yvonne. Perhaps they will continue using Word Art. I will find out the next time I am home.
Below: The Shoe Box, August 2010
Below: The Shoe Box, August 2011
"All My Life I Wanted to be Famous..."
Bronson (2008), 28/08/11.
Messege in a Tube
To commemorate the ending of the Werkplaats Typografie Beginning of the Year Show 2011, a time capsule was purchased in Weesp, (almost) transported by bicycle to de Ateliers Amsterdam, ceremonially filled, sealed and transported to Arnhem. The capsule is stored in a purpose built catacomb beneath the Werkplaats Typografie where it will remain till the 10th July 2111. Incarcerated items includes a secret, mobile phone with charger, used chewing gum, the final edition of the News of the World, the emancipated voice and an unopened 3d model of the Parthenon among many other items. The Werkplaats Typografie Time Caspule and its contents are registered at the International Time Capsule Society, Georgia, USA.
Mark and Jeroen
A publication about the making of a publication, by an intern about an intern. The Office of Mark Simmonds invited Jeroen Marttin to design his own artist publication as an intern under the guidance of Mark Simmonds. Jeroen was provided with a work space and use of the office facilities. Over the course of 4 months and bi-weekly 4 hour shifts, the publication was designed, edited and later printed, bound and rubber stamped at the Office of Mark Simmonds.
"Just One More Thing..."
Columbo, Swan Song (1974), 28/06/11.
A Story by J.M.A. Biesheuvel
With Ine Meganck. A book about writing, story telling, translation and interpretation. Artist Jort van der Laan translated a story by Dutch writer J.M.A. Biesheuvel (translated title, ‘Journey Through My Room’). Yet this translation is incomplete. The missing sections of the story are made visible throughout the book as blank spaces, perhaps provoking the reader to add their own interpretation and addition to the story.
Columns Again...
(Transcript of an email sent 24/06/11)
While I was in London between 23rd April - 11th May, I thought it would be an escape from the drudgery of life in Arnhem and the Werkplaats Typografie. Things were going well, I could have proper fish and chips, no phones to answer, I could enjoy a cup of PG tips knowing that the milk had not be left out of fridge all warm and weird tasting, there were no 'meetings' to attend, and so on and so forth. All this came to an abrupt end on Sunday 8th May, when I saw the most extraordinary site. As I approached my lodgings, two men were recreating the Speelplaats day I devised on Sunday 27th March. I was reminded of the struggle and triumph of that fateful day as I observed the men heroically haul the columns from the van to the shop, albeit at a much shorter distance.
A Concert for Jeffrey
Don't forget me...