Asemic Art by Amy Irwen

 

Asemic Art by Amy Irwen

(Rosemount, Minnesota, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Asemics by Kerri Pullo

Asemic visual poetry by Kerri Pullo
 (Tucson, Arizona, USA) (October 2018)

 

 

Kerri Pullo is an asemic writer and artist  whose work is of such interest and so innovative that I've felt it has been essential to follow her development in order to document the growing movement. Thus those who are kind and repeat visitors to Asemic Front as well as MinXus-Lynxus are likely to be familiar with Kerri Pullo's asemics. Numerous entries have been devoted to her.

 

She is also well-known in the international asemic and vispo communities. I would hazard to guess that she would make the Top Ten list of the best asemic artists working today were someone to do a survey (but that's not anything I really want to encourage).

 

So I am thrilled to share a selection of new work by Kerri Pullo, much of it within the last month. Her asemic writing, rooted in a distinctive calligraphic style, has become more complex and - I believe - more akin to the great achievements of abstract expressionism. Kerri Pullo has always been capable of taking me to expressive worlds via the route opened by Pollock and Twombly, but she is also the product of many other influences as well that will resonate with her audience in other ways.

 

Much of Kerri Pullo's earlier work focuses on individual symbol generation, glyphs, and linearity (horizontal and vertical). In this new work, I see an interest in the creation of larger organic structures to contain the symbols. These works diverge from the linear as they are circular and woven. These pieces definitely can be read as asemic poetry and have a lyric sensibility. The movement - evident in the work of numerous artists - toward the creation of asemic structures is an exciting new development. As ever, Kerri Pullo leads the way.

 

- DVS

 

 

 

By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

Among her new pieces, I greatly admire these reversed-out asemics that reflect her new interest in form but also the minimalism with which she has been so successful in the past; however, I realize the term "minimalism" has limitations when applied to Kerri Pullo's recent work. Again, the structural achievement here is notable built on her total mastery of calligraphy.

 

 

 

 

 By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

 

 

By Kerri Pullo (October 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

Asemic Front 2 Collab by Diane Keys & John M. Bennett

 

Asemic visual poetry collaboration

by Diane Keys (Illinois, USA)

& John M. Bennett (Ohio, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

Asemic Front 2 Collabs by Osvaldo Cibils, John M. Bennett, De Villo Sloan

 

Asemic visual poetry collab by Osvaldo Cibils (Italy),

John M. Bennett (USA), De Villo Sloan (USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Osvaldo Cibils, John M. Bennett,

De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

By Osvaldo Cibils, John M. Bennett,

De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

More Rosetta Stone Asemics by Ficus strangulensis

Asemic visual poetry by Ficus strangulensis

(Charleston, West Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

In the previous AF2 blog featuring a piece by Jayne B. Lyons, I coined the term (I am prone to coin terms much to the chagrin of many) "Rosetta Stone Asemics" to contextualize works that contain recognizable letters, words and even sequences of words combined (or interspersed) with asemics.

 

This kind of work is actually very common (but not in any negative sense). For instance, I have seen many texts written in cursive script that are in places readable and in other places unintelligible and meaningless. Especially when coherence and incoherence are combined creatively, attempting to "read" this kind of text is an experience that leads us to discoveries about the nature of language and consciousness.

 

"Rosetta Stone Asemics" is descriptive/situational and not meant as an attempt to define an entire new genre. I do find it interesting that both Jayne B. Lyons and now Ficus strangulensis have recently done work that applies to this Rosetta Stone concept. (Again, see the JBL post for a complete explanation.)

 

Ficus strangulensis is in my estimation one of the great USA visual poets. His contributions proved foundational in the first Asemic Front. I developed my theory of "Deconstructive Asemics" from his work published on AF. It's great to have him back for AF2.

 

This colorful, process-oriented visual poetry by Ficus strangulensis reveals the distortion and decomposition of existing language and numerals that many asemic writers use to generate asemics and related structures. Using this process, asemic writing is built from the fragments of existing language(s).

 

The Rosetta Stone concept is present here because the work suggests the endeavor of translation. In this case, however, the numerals are being distorted into shapes and forms that become completely meaningless. Thus, one possibility for this extraordinary visual poem is to view it as a text about asemic writing itself.

 

I've added several details and remixes to offer a closer look at this piece.

 

- De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



4 X Yayoi S. W.

 

Asemics by Yayoi S.W. (Kirkland, Washington, USA)

 

 

Yayoi S.W. was an Asemic Front fave and I am very pleased she generously consented to share some exciting work with this new venture. I hope we can look forward to seeing more of her work on AF 2.

 

- DVS

 

 

 

By Yayoi S.W.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Yayoi S.W.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosetta Stone Asemics by Jayne B. Lyons

Asemics by Jayne B. Lyons (Lakeville, Minnesota, USA)

 

 

In ponderous theoretical discussions I've had over the years, questions about the relationship of the Rosetta Stone to asemic writing have occasionally arisen. In fact, the great Richard Canard - well-known in the Eternal Network - was very interested in this issue at one point, sending me Rosetta Stone images for careful study.

 

I grappled with the topic (is the Rosetta Stone asemic?) for some time. I finally came to the firm position that the Rosetta Stone - with its mixture of ancient Greek and Egyptian with the bonus of hieroglyphs - is not asemic writing. Probably some clever asemicist out there can make a case for the opposite position; I do not doubt it. As my own understanding coalesced the answer came clear to me, however.

 

The Rosetta Stone cannot be asemic because it is inscribed with known languages that can be read through a conventional process of signification. BUT the astute observers who have been drawn to the Rosetta Stone are attracted because this artifact's historical narrative shares commonalities with core asemic theory.

At one point in time the Rosetta Stone, at least partially, was unreadable; however, the code was deciphered. The unreadable was made readable through translation through the efforts of Jean-Francois Champollion and other scholars of language.

The true asemic text can never be translated or deciphered into a language that is conventionally readable. (That does not mean asemic writing does not express or convey meaning entirely.) This accounts for my position that codes are not asemic. The process of signification is eradicated in the asemic work, and the Rosetta Stone's great interest is as a multi-lingual chart of signification with the added fascination of hieroglyphs.

The Rosetta Stone also has the Romantic allure of asemics that purposefully evoke the archaic and lost civilizations and languages. The Rosetta Stone made a huge cultural impression in Europe when the Romantic movement was flourishing. Our understanding of asemics today comes in part from Romanticism.

All this is a great deal to hang upon this wonderful piece by Jayne B. Lyons in her first contribution to Asemic Front 2. By now the viewer, I hope, can see what sparked my meditation: Jayne's work is a structure of known symbols and asemics presented in a form similar to the Rosetta Stone. This is an approach that has and continues to produce interesting image-texts.

- DVS

 

Asemic Front 2 Collabs by Osvaldo Cibils & De Villo Sloan

Asemic vispo collab by Osvaldo Cibils (Trento, Italy)

& De Villo Sloan (New York, USA)

 

 

 

 

By Osvaldo Cibils & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asemic Collab by Laura Ortiz & Toddy Bee

Asemic collaboration by Laura Ortiz (Toronto, Canada)

& Toddy Bee (Louisiana, USA)

 

 

Laura Ortiz was an important contributor to the first phase of Asemic Front, helping to explore new possibilities for asemics and visual poetry. I am thrilled to introduce her for the first time on Asemic Front 2 with this collab she made with with Toddy Bee. I find the overlays and depth-of-field fascinating. To me, the work alludes to "spirit writing" and asemic writing's links to automatic writing and documents of the spiritualist movement. Below are some detail studies of the piece.

 

- DVS

 

 

 

By Laura Ortiz & Toddy Bee (DVS re-mix)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asemic Calligraphy & Image-Texts by Jay Snodgrass

 Asemic calligraphy by Jay Snodgrass

 (Tallahassee, Florida, USA)

Calligraphy by Jay Snodgrass becomes immediately recognizable to readers and is much-admired in the international asemic writing and art community. In particular, he is associated with Michael Jacobson's post-literate venues that have done so much to advance the asemic movement and explore complex theoretical issues.

I am very pleased to be able to share this selection of work by Jay Snodgrass as a part of his first appearance on Asemic Front. He thoughtfully sent along work that I see falling into two categories: (1) Calligraphic work (above and below) - that to me evokes medieval calligraphy - that forms the basis of his asemic symbol systems and (2) image-text pieces (the last three on this blog) that qualify as the kind of "visual poetry-asemic hybrids" that are examined with great interest - but not exclusively - on Asemic Front.

 

 

I am neither a medievalist nor do I ultimately know much about calligraphy. So this "reading" of the Snodgrass work might be highly subjective. (All the same, I think we need to share our "readings" of asemics more than we do.) With that disclaimer, I return to my contention that asemics by Jay Snodgrass often evoke medieval calligraphy. I feel as if I am looking at a medieval text that has been uprooted from conventional signification and/or deconstructed to the elemental shapes and forms from which written language emerged. Yet these primal, archaic shapes are re-forming into something new that is, as yet, ineffable.

 

Even if my response is highly subjective, it points to the fact that much asemic writing evokes or alludes to existing written languages and often from specific historical periods. This is one way asemic writing functions as a meta-language and is emotionally expressive. For example, how often have you heard or read responses to asemic work like this: "That looks like Arabic!" "Those look like Runes!" "That looks like Japanese!" But they are not Arabic, Japanese or Runes nor can they be read in any conventional way.  These allusions to existing written languages are one way asemics convey emotions, ideas, subtle tonality, connections to language on an unconscious level, allusions to history and culture as well as linguistic and poetic forms. 

 

Some asemic writers concentrate on individual symbols and glyphs. Others go further into structure via "asemic syntax" and "asemic poetics." As these pieces testify, Jay Snodgrass experiments freely with asemic forms ranging from the linear to organic structures.

 

 

by Jay Snodgrass

 

The next three pieces by Jay Snodgrass are the image-text compositions with asemics; asemic visual poetry. Every visual poet is challenged with integrating the interplay (or downright contradiction) between text and image in her or his own way. It is fascinating to me how Jay Snodgrass chooses to integrate - very successfully - the flow of asemics with the shapes of the human body expressed through the rationality of anatomy. Ordinary linear text is integrated into the piece as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Since Jay Snodgrass is very adept with what is certainly one of the world's most obscure and esoteric practices - creating asemic structures - I want to mention the organic forms that emerge in most of these pieces. Jay Snodgrass chose to connect his asemics with the shapes of the human body, as noted. (As a result, his somewhat rigid asemics become more fluid and less linear.)

 

Mid-20th century poets who were the great champions and innovators of organic form in poetry often associated the poem with the body (body defines form): literally! Some of this was related to the emphasis on breath lines and breathing, but other physical attributes were connected as well. Charles Olson saw the poet's body and the poem as essentially the same being (although I am not completely clear on the alchemical process involved). And Michael McClure saw the poem not only as linguistically organic but literally as a living being. Thus, Jay Snodgrass's choice of the human body in these visual poems has, I think, poetic resonance as well as literal and metaphorical possibilities.

 

- De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

by Jay Snodgrass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asemics by Rita Zanotti Zanotti

Asemic art by Rita Zanotti Zanotti (Lugano, Switzerland)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

 

 

by Toddy Bee 

 

 

 

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:

 

 

 

 

by Michael Orr

 

 

 

 

Collab by Michael Orr, Diane Keys, John M. Bennett

 

 

 

by Michael Orr