Two Miniature Paintings by Diane Keys

 

By Diane Keys (Elgin, Illinois, USA)

 

 

 

I was sorting through a packed box of collab materials Diane Keys sent me and came upon these two miniature paintings. I am sharing them on Asemic Front 2 because I believe they embody her unique style and talent with image-text. You will see these images appear I again in upcoming collabs, but I am going to copy them and preserve the originals.

 

- DVS

 

By Diane Keys

 

 

By Diane Keys 

 

 

 

 

 

By Diane Keys

 

 

  

 

By Diane Keys

 

  

 

 

 

 By Diane Keys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 By Diane Keys

By Diane Keys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vispo Trashpo by Jim Leftwich (Part 1)

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

Visual poet Jim Leftwich generously mailed me several dozen pieces he created. I am using some of them for Asemic Front 2 collab material & archiving the rest. However, I find the work of great significance and am sharing a liberal selection with the broad AF2 group  via this blog (thank you as ever for your continuing interest!) before they are integrated into new compositions and/or dutifully cataloged.

 

Jim Leftwich is well-known in the visual poetry community, in the Eternal Network (mail art) and as a writer and artist of an experimental bent. I am sure he is of particular interest to the Asemic Front project audience because - along with Australian Tim Gaze - Leftwich is widely given credit for having coined the term "asemic" in the mid-1990s to describe a previously undefined genre within visual poetry thus helping spark the current global artistic mania - some even call it a movement - to produce asemic texts and art.

 

It should also be noted that Leftwich has been publically critical and outspoken about the use of the term "asemic." He has questioned the linguistic theory that has emerged associated with asemic writing as well as the validity of abstract art variants that are currently popular; instead, it is my understanding he recommends the use of the term "pansemic" as a corrective and that (asemics-)pansemics belong firmly in the realm of visual poetry.

 

Alas, the use of the term "asemic" has escaped from Pandora's Box, as they say. The term "asemic" is the signifying cat escaped from the metaphorical bag. In other words, once the asemic cat is loosed upon the world it is damned hard to bag it again. Thus, with sincere apologies to Jim Leftwich who has so good-heartedly shared with AF2, I will not rename my humble project Pansemic Front.   

 

In the international mail art network, Jim Leftwich is also known for (along with Diane Keys) launching Trashpo, a mail art genre that has inspired artists and influenced countless works, exhibits and performances for the last decade. Trashpo is a form of vispo created with found material. The pieces in this blog have more in common with Leftwich's first Trashpo compositions than his (asemic-)pansemic work. The decomposition of language, however is a trait found in asemic-pansemic pieces and Trashpo. The collabs, indeed, will likely have strong pansemic elements.

 

- DVS 

 

 

 

 



 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

The pieces appearing in this post are relatively large, composed on conventional scan paper (8.5 X 11 inch) pages.

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual poetry by Jim Leftwich (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minimalist Asemics by Donmay Donamayoora

Minimalist asemic composition by Donmay Donamayoora

(October 18, 2019) (Stamford, Connecticut, USA)

 

 

 

 

Perhaps because collaborations tend to evolve into expansive dialogs that require space on the page, the majority of compositions you see on Asemic Front 2 cannot be considered minimalist or minimalism. I doubt anyone would argue. The AF2 "house" style, in fact, tends toward a meandering organic complexity (although no particular style is favored!).

 

In my commentary I have frequently praised those asemic writers/visual poets who have the gift of expressing themselves via economy, simplicity & clarity. I have a fascination with well-wrought, solitary asemic glyphs & (anti-) symbols. I make an effort to share examples of minimalism on AF2. I lament my own sad efforts & caution, as so many others have, with the truism "it's not as easy as it looks" (minimalism that is) thus multiplying praise for our visiting minimalists.

 

Today I have the great pleasure to share selections from a current asemic minimal series by Donmay Donamayoora. I find her achievement with these pieces to be extraordinary. They have been appearing online this month (October 2019) so this is an AF2 scoop! Donmay kindly granted permission to share selections on AF2. She is a great friend to the project.

 

Sign construction - of course - is only one aspect of asemic minimalism. Color (or lack thereof) is a consideration as well as imagery & structure. I believe Donmay makes stellar use of all these elements. Her series is a memorable contribution to the growing body of asemic texts. She needs no introduction to members of the asemic writing & visual poetry communities. As ever, I express my deep appreciation to her.

 

- De Villo Sloan
 

 

By Donmay Donamayoora (October 16, 2019)

 

 

 

 

By Donmay Donamayoora (October 17, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

"Visual Haiku" by Donmay Donamayoora (October 13, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

By Donmay Donamayoora (October 17, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

"Visual Haiku" by Donmay Donamayoora (October 15, 2019)

 

 

 

  

 

 

"Visual Haiku" by Donmay Donamayoora (October 16, 2019)

 

 

 

By Donmay Donamayoora (October 7, 2019) 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

By Donmay Donamayoora (October 16, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Pidgeons" & Other New Collabs by Jayne B. Lyons & De Villo Sloan (concrete poetry, asemics, visual poetry)

Visual poetry collab by Jayne Barket Lyons (Minnesota, USA)

& De Villo Sloan (New York, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concrete poetry collab by Jayne Barket Lyons (Minnesota, USA)

& De Villo Sloan (New York, USA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Starter by Jayne B. Lyons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jayne B. Lyons & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jayne B. Lyons & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jayne B. Lyons & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 By Jayne B. Lyons & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starter by Jayne B. Lyons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 By Jayne Barket Lyons & De Villo Sloan

  

 

 

Starter by Jayne Lyons

 

 

 

"Pidgeons" by Jayne Lyons & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume #18 in Sharon Silverman's 50 Mail Art Books Project

Collab book by Sharon Silverman (Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA)

& De Villo Sloan (Auburn, New York, USA)

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman is a visual artist from Massachusetts, USA, widely admired in the Eternal Network. She also has a talent for creating, managing and documenting mail art calls of great inclusiveness and depth, a rare skill that is always needed. Her Faces of Jesus call (do not be dissuaded by the title!) - now concluded - is worth your perusal; documentation can be found online.

 

More recently Sharon Silverman has launched another ambitious project that is producing impressive results. For instance, I think her book series collabs with Nancy Bell Scott are fabulous.

 

Sharon plans to publish no less than 50 collaborative books. At the time of this writing, I estimate she is approximately half way through the editions and that participation is a "hot ticket" in the network; but you can contact her if you are interested. Here is her call from IUOMA-Ning:

 "I am inviting MailArtists to send me 10 original pieces of work. Any theme. Artwork must be no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches. I will scan your artwork and combine it with 10 pieces of my work and create a one of a kind MailArt Book for each of us. I have done 7 [outdated] books so far and would like to work with as many Artists as possible. I will mail your original artwork back to you with your book. Mail to : 50 MailArt Books, c/o Sharon Silverman, P.O. Box 1212, Haverhill, MA 01831 USA."

 

 

 

 

Collaborative book by Sharon Silverman & De Villo Sloan

 

 

 

I have admired Sharon Silverman's work for a long time, so I sent her a sequence of ten concrete visual poems (with asemics!) for the new project. I received this book via snail mail, and I assume documentation will appear in some form online. (However this is a HUGE effort she is undertaking, I understand, so participants will hopefully help share in the documentation.) I am thrilled with the pieces Sharon Silverman made in response to my sequence. As is my usual practice, I will not reproduce the book entirely. I will present a healthy selection of excerpts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collaborative book by Sharon Silverman (left) 

& De Villo Sloan (ghostly concrete right)

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (left) & De Villo Sloan (right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (right) & De Villo Sloan (left)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (left) & De Villo Sloan (right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (left) De Villo Sloan (right - asemic writing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (right) De Villo Sloan (left)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Silverman (right) De Villo Sloan (left)

 

 

 

 

 

 By Sharon Silverman