zondag 31 maart 2019

Lettersetter sundown

Lettersetting Sun


A project that had been in deep sleep for many years surfaced again recently: the transposition of some typewritten texts by the late M.B. into typo-printed versions... hand-press, individually composed, lead and wooden letters... a process few people find the time to busy themselves with nowadays, and part of the reason I quit way back when... 
But now it resurfaced for a specific project, and I felt I had not really finished at the time, so I agreed to have another look at it all... even though I had recently seen the folder in which the copies of originals were kept, I could not find it and so had to rely on versions I had printed at the time. Otherwise there was also the fact that the press I used then was unavailable, as well as the lettering used, so the whole thing had to be rekindled from scratch. By chance I could make use of the material at the FMC out in the countryside, which made it a sort of pleasant outing at first... but became a bit of a drag die to the relative distance from town – I had to drive out more often than originally planned, and it all took longer than I thought, and was a bit more difficult due to some unforessen circumstances... but on the whole it was ok... at least I hope so;

Fact is the goalposts shifted slightly, there were more prints needed, and for different venues, and at a certain point I realized I was using the wrong texts, and so the thing became a bit of a chore... which in the end I wondered if it was a good idea to get into it all again, and where it might end (it is not over yet at this juncture, I will have to report back...)
But one of the interesting things is that driving back to town in the evening is like riding into the sunset: giving the whole thing a sort of coyboy-hollywood experience, while on the radio they announce that the Lettersetter is making it’s way up north: heading our way. The Lettersetter is a local name for a bug that eats trees... somewhat like the budworm that ravages North America, it’s coming up from the Mediterranean, along with termites and such, to eat us out of house and home, and probably gobble up our archives too... It takes it’s name from the fact that it burrows under the bark in neat systematic parallel rows, much like we plow furrows in our fields, combined with a typwriter-style enthusiasm, even though I don’t think it rings a bell at every new line, or zip cogs per paragraph.

As for the project: we will have to see; a first contingent of prints was crumpled into a sort of snaky ball and hung out to dry, others fragmented in a showcase along with a few open letters... will let you know more soon...




As it was, we produced some classic looking pieces too, and yes, a series or suite of perhaps five better examples... I didn’t go to install the work myself and was a bit surprised to find that the suite had been massacred, leaving me with just fragments of a few examples, some of whiche then I belatedly say were even erroneous: alas again, an oversight of one R... that pesky R which registers as a trade mark in my brain... so, try as I might: failed again!
 
Grrr... off then to the opening and a sneak preview just before the dignitaries did their rounds... and yes, now I could see what had transpired... my co-producer cut up and mixed the texts in a playful but rather daredevil fashion, creating an installation of what was in effect but a slightly more than usual printing job... aside from cut-up and mix-match there was a banner as well as another snake, this time surrounded by gobelins and soft red velveteen in oak presentation tables with a steep incline... neo-gothic sort of flemish fantasy style... with a video of the empire mirror running on the wall behind (rather than the mirror itself which I had sort of hoped for, but I guess the insurance didn’t see it may way...)
 
The rest of the show was a bit of a hodge-podge with some good highlights, but the fact that it is a tourist trap rather than a study of Breugel’s surroundings, we all had a very well catered for opening walking dinner style affair, attempting to emulate the free-for-all depicted in some of his work... didn’t really get to that, the whole thing slightly more stayed than it should be...


The rest of the show was a bit of a hodge-podge with some good highlights, but the fact that it is a tourist trap rather than a study of Breugel’s surroundings, we all had a very well catered for opening walking dinner style affair, attempting to emulate the free-for-all depicted in some of his work... didn’t really get to that, the whole thing slightly more stayed than it should be...
Rysalvy’s wine-tasting session under the tree (there is but one left) was worth it though: far from being the blow-out Breugel would have depicted, one had quizzical glances after tasting the dry polenta offered as neutralizer... to then drop away to the official tent for some decent dessert...


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