Asemic Front 2: Asemic Visual Poetry Collabs by Toddy Bee and Michael Orr

Asemic vispo collaboration by Toddy Bee (Louisiana, USA)
and Michael Orr (Georgia, USA)

(click to enlarge)

By De Villo Sloan

The Asemic Front project is dedicated primarily to collaborations, so I am thrilled today to share two new digital collabs by Toddy Bee and Michael Orr, both currently residing in the Southern part of the United States.

Toddy Bee is currently a well-received, active contributor in the international asemic writing community and is thus likely known to most Asemic Front 2 visitors. This is his first AF appearance. I am sure you look forward with me to seeing more work by Toddy Bee on these pages.

I had the great good fortune to collab with Michael Orr on pieces for the first Asemic Front, and it was a tremendous experience. Michael Orr has roots in the visual arts and is widely known in the international mail network. This might explain his willingness and skills in the area of collaboration, as mail art encourages collective work.

For those not familiar, the Eternal Network has long been a conduit for concrete poetry, visual poetry and - now - asemic writing. Most people in the network at least experiment with visual-textual work. Especially during the last year, I believe Michael Orr has produced increasingly compelling visual poetry.

Asemic vispo collaboration by Toddy Bee (Louisiana, USA)

and Michael Orr (Georgia, USA)

For better context, I am also including solo work by Toddy Bee and Michael Orr. Toddy Bee is very eclectic in his approach, so I cannot hope to provide an overview of his work with a few scans. Instead, I have chosen to focus on his asemic "style" in some (relatively) minimalist work that is based in asemic calligraphy.

Generally, Toddy Bee's work is a harmonic synthesis of asemics and vispo that makes effective use of color and is rooted in abstract art. Asemic Front has always focused upon asemic-vispo hybrids, so I am very pleased to provide a closer look at this work for contemplation.

by Toddy Bee

In vispo, Michael Orr draws upon his skill with design, comics, abstraction and his knowledge of avant approaches, especially Fluxus. A review of his work lead me to the conclusion his visual poetry and asemics are evolving, which I find very positive. I see experimentation and impressive gains achieved over time through attention and (perhaps even painstaking) hard work (signs of a serious artist).

Interestingly, Michael Orr - whether he knows it consciously or intuitively - makes the successful leap from his visual art to the visual-textual realm primarily through the formalism of classic concrete poetry. I see concrete poetry shaping much of his work and his exploration of asemics. He has ability with abstraction and precise formalism, which is an interesting combination: