Blog Archives

Back in the Stacks: 1992

Since it feels like summer was decades ago, we took a look at summer decades ago; a sampling of our periodicals. It was hot. Once upon a time.

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Open the The New Yorker, what’s the first thing you see? The New Yorker, June 1992.

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Rappers in recovery. Alan Light, “L.A. Rappers Speak Out.” Rolling Stone, June 25, 1992.

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Still maybe an issue. Mad, June 1992.

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Walter De Maria and El Greco in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, from “All Fives, Sevens, and Nines,” by Lars Nittve. Artforum, Summer 1992.

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Mad, June 1992.

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Danny Tisdale, Lynching 1930. From “Engendered Species,” by Kobena Mercer. Artforum, Summer 1992

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“On the Road to Kassel,” Artforum, Summer 1992.

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The hits. Rolling Stone, June 25, 1992.

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Novum, June 1992.

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More carĀ ads featuringĀ cops. Vanity Fair, June 1992.

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Before mixology. Rolling Stone, June 25, 1992.

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From an interview with George Condo, by Anney Bonney. Bomb, Summer 1992.

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Vogue, June 1992.

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Be thankful for lasers. Vogue, June 1992.

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Checking up on the crooks. Annie Leibovitz, “Watergate.” Vanity Fair, June 1992.

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Before Bill did it. Julia Reed, “Clinton on the Brink.” Vogue, June 1992.

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“Documenting Documenta.” Interview, June 1992.

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Fashion fish. Vogue, June 1992.

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It doesn’t stop. Interview, June 1992.

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And no one is pretending. Interview, June 1992.

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Religion. Vanity Fair, June 1992.

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From John Ashbery’s “Baked Alaska.” The New Yorker, June 29, 1992.

Umbrella’s Art Crimes

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Umbrella
1983-2005 (incomplete)
umbrellaeditions.com

Librarian Judith Hoffberg created Umbrella in 1978 as ā€œa means of intercommunication for art historians, artists, librarians and anyone else who is interestedā€ in ā€œnews and information relative to a part of art history that usually never gets discussed in the mainstream.ā€ This meant artist books and mail art, mostly, but the journal’s blue and blackĀ pages were open to more.

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Eric Drooker, L, December 1990

In the listings section of each issue is the heading Lost and Found, under which went news briefs related to artistic heists and recoveries. Below is a sampling of the reach of art’s underworld.

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October 1983

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December 1990

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December 1998

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August 2004

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December 2005

Umbrella ran in print to 2005 and then online until 2008. Hoffberg passed away in 2009.

Find our incomplete collection (30+ issues) of the irregular journal in Periodicals.

The Sienese Shredder

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The Sienese Shredder
nos 1-4; 2006-2010
www.sienese-shredder.com

The Sienese Shredder #1 hasĀ a mango cover with a fox and a clock. Inside, right off the bat, is History and Truth (a commencement address), followed by GĆ©rard de Nerval’s Chantilly (ā€œfilled with very old retired servants, walking their limping dogsā€), postcard collages by John Ashbery, music by Alan Shockley, the marketing of surrealism, Ron Padgett, Harry Mathews, A Parliament of Refrigerator Magnets, delirious episodes in contemporary art, a poem played out through a lyrical Twister, a Duchampian chess challenge bearing a cupid, Honey’s Metaphoric Energy Transfer, The New Crustacean, and more, ending after over 200 pages with J-K Huysmans, of Against Nature, in Haarlem.

Flip through the next three and find currency collages, mute critics, bughouse poets, Whitman’s glasses, Toilet Rolls, Macintoshages, octopussarian impulses, de Kooning’s last drawing, epitaphs by William Beckford, eyeballs, giant-size mini books, spools by Crumb, and Jesus Christ. These aren’t even the highlights.

Founded and edited by Brice Brown and Trevor Winkfield, The Shredder ran for four issues, 2006-2010. Each issue contained an audio CD. ā€œContents can include writings by visual artists; art by writers; poets as installation artists; photographers as poets, and the range of contributors moves from the well-known and up-and-coming to the unknown or forgotten,ā€ says the website (which has excerpts and issues for sale).

The complete series is available in ourĀ Periodicals archive.

 

 

Shirley Jaffe, Paintings (Issue #1)

Shirley Jaffe, Paintings (Issue #1)

 

Raphael Rubinstein, In Search of the Miraculous: 50 Episodes from the Annals of Contemporary Art (Issue#1)

Raphael Rubinstein, In Search of the Miraculous: 50 Episodes from the Annals of Contemporary Art (Issue#1)

 

Jane Hammond, Paintings (Issue #1)

Jane Hammond, Paintings (Issue #1)

 

Ron Morosan, Louis Eilshemius Drawings (Issue #1)

Ron Morosan, Louis Eilshemius Drawings (Issue #1)

 

John Graham, The Case of Mr. Picasso (Issue #3)

John Graham, The Case of Mr. Picasso (Issue #3)

 

Larry Rivers, Poems and Drawings from the 1950s (Issue #3)

Larry Rivers, Poems and Drawings from the 1950s (Issue #3)

 

 

Strapazin

First launched in 1984,Ā Strapazin is a Swiss-based, German language comics magazine focused on the underground and independent scenes. The aesthetic of the work selected is often defined by expressive, gestural drawings filled with motion and Ā energy. Notable Strapazin contributors include SVA’s own Gary Panter and David Sandlin, as well as Ā Daniel Johnston, Le Dernier Cri and Julie Doucet.


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The SVA library has 25 issues of Strapazin from June 1994 through the current issue.

Strapazin, No. 106. March 2012.

Strapazin, No. 106. March 2012.
Cover by Sharmila Banerjee

Strapazin, No. 76.

Gary Panter
Strapazin, No. 76.

Strapazin, No. 76.

Gary Panter
Strapazin, No. 76.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Gary Panter
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Gary Panter
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Daniel Johnston
Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Daniel Johnston
Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Daniel Johnston
Strapazin, No. 95. June 2009.

Strapazin, No. 93. December 2008.

David Sandlin
Strapazin, No. 93. December 2008.

Strapazin, No. 93. December 2008.

David Sandlin
Strapazin, No. 93. December 2008.

Strapazin, No. 39. June 1995.

Strapazin, No. 39. June 1995.

Strapazin, No. 103. June 2011.

Helge Reumann & Xavier Robel
Strapazin, No. 103. June 2011.

Ā 

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Le Dernier Cri
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Le Dernier Cri
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Luca Schenardi
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Luca Schenardi
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Luca Schenardi
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Hans Scharer

Hans Scharer
Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.

Ā 

Strapazin Special Issue; Bubbles, Boxes & Beyond. 2000.

Julie Douect
Strapazin Special Issue; Bubbles, Boxes & Beyond. 2000.

Julie Doucet

Julie Doucet
Strapazin Special Issue; Bubbles, Boxes & Beyond. 2000.

Julie Doucet

Julie Doucet
Strapazin Special Issue; Bubbles, Boxes & Beyond. 2000.

Julie Doucet

Julie Doucet
Strapazin Special Issue; Bubbles, Boxes & Beyond. 2000.

Ā 

Photo by Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs

Strapazin, No. 53. December 1998.
Photo by Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs

Ā 

Strapazin, No. 107. June 2012.

Patrick Savolainen
Strapazin, No. 107. June 2012.

Strapazin, No. 100. September 2010.

Xiang Ya Ta
Strapazin, No. 100. September 2010.

Strapazin, No. 109. December 2012.

Yuichi Yokoyama.
Strapazin, No. 109. December 2012.

Strapazin, No. 100. September 2010.

Yan Cong
Strapazin, No. 100. September 2010.

Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Christina Gransow
Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Ludmilla Bartscht
Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Nine Antico

Nine Antico
Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Nine Antico

Nine Antico
Strapazin, No. 104. September 2011.

Ā 

American Craft

3050_001This bimonthly magazine—founded in 1941—was originally known as Craft Horizons but later changed to American Craft in 1979.Ā  It is dedicated to the advancement of the ā€œage-old human impulseā€ to create things by hand. With an emphasis on nature and primitive art,Ā Craft HorizonsĀ drew harsh contrast to the mass-produced products of its time.

The magazine celebrates the use of unconventional materials, emerging and veteran artists, and helped define Craft as a concept, documenting the way it has evolved and sustained into the present day. Ā Issues typically include insight on upcoming exhibitions, book reviews, events, and craft-related films as well as organizations and schools engaged in advancing the craft medium.Ā  It also gives novice writers and artists a place to showcase their work, as the magazine takes freelance writings and photography submissions for consideration towards each issue.Ā Readers are also occasionally able to purchase affordable and innovative handmade goods featured in the magazine.

Funded by the nonprofit organization, The America Craft Council, American Craft is currently in its 72nd volume of publication and has over 14,000 issues (including the 38-year publication of Craft Horizons), making it one of the largest collections of art, craft, and design books in the country.

The Visual Arts Library is fortunate to own 46 of these volumes–dating back to 1962-and our current subscription ensures that our collection will grow with the publication.

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American Craft, Volume 71, Issue Number 06. December/January 2012
Some artists view craft primarily as an activity, rather than an object. Left: Anne Wilson’s “Wind Up: Walking the Warp, Houston” (2010). Six dancers wound thread through the steel frame in this performance-turned-installation. Middle: Kelly Lamb (supported on her left by B Teamer Jeff Zimmerman) learns how to dance on molten glass as part of the performance art group’s 1997 “Tricks” video. Right: Mung Lar Lam hangs her geometric sculptures, made with cotton cloth, an iron, and starch, during an “Ironings” performance in 2010.

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American Craft, Volume 71, Issue Number 06. December/January 2012
Randi Solin, a Washington D.C. born artist, studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. Solin creates abstract expressionist art she sees as “closer to paintings than fragile bud vases.”

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Craft Horizons, Volume 22, Issue Number 05. September/October 1962
Left: Blue and white porcelain vase with relief decoration, 9 3/4″ high, from Bennington, Vermont, c. 1850. Right (top): Hard paste porcelain vase, 15″ high, embossed with gold and jewel work by Union Porcelain Works, Greenpoint, New York, c. 1884. [Left Page:] Right (bottom): porcelain pitcher, 8 1/4″ high, with relief decoration–Niagara Falls design–by United States Pottery Co., Bennington, Vermont, c. 1853-1858. [Right Page:] Left (top): painted vase, 8 3/4″ high, produced by Rockwood Pottery, Cincinnati, Ohio, and decorated by Artus Van Briggle, c. 1990. Left (bottom): blue “art nouveau” bowl, 5″ high, by Artus Van Briggle, Colorado Springs, Colorado, c. 1915. Right: hand-carved pale yellow “art nouveau” vase, 10 7/8″ high, by William Grueby, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1910.

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Craft Horizons, Volume 22, Issue Number 05. September/October 1962
Left: “Bottle Garden” by Sari Dienes of Stony Point, New York.

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Craft Horizons, Volume 22, Issue Number 04. July/August 1962
Nicholas Vergette’s mixed media architectural murals. Left: Mosaic of ceramic and wood set in unglazed clay, 6′ x 4′. Center: Mosaic of blue, green, and orange shapes, 54′ x 26′. Right: Ceramic and wood mosaic, 6′ x 4′.

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Craft Horizons, Volume 22, Issue Number 01. January/February 1962
Polish woodcarving, truly sculptural in its vigorously expressed from, captured the imagination of viewers in a comprehensive exhibition of Polish folk craft in every medium at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, November 28-January 14. In toys, kitchenware, animals, religious and secular figures, peasant carvers throughout the country practice an art that is at once traditional and contemporary. One of the most interesting centers of creative activity is the School of Kenar, located in the mountains of southern Poland, which gives training only in woodcarving and sculpture. There, craftsmen are producing work of such inventiveness and formal strength that it belongs with the sophisticated and informed sculpture of the international art community.

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American Craft, Volume 72, Issue Number 01. February/March 2012
Top left: The crowd at the second Toledo Museum of Art glass workshop in June 1962. Front row, from left: Rosemary Gulassa, Harvey Leafgreen (a retired Swedish glass-blower recruited to help teach), June Wilson, Robert C. Florian, and Harvey K. Littleton. Back row, from left: John Karrasch, Octavio Medellin, Clayton Bailey, Stanley Zielinski, Norm Schulman, Diane Powell, Edith Franklin, and Erik Erikson. Bottom left: Fritz Dreisbach’s “Rich Golden Amber Mongo,” 1989 14 x 12 in. dia. Right: Harvey K. Littleton’s “Gold and Green Implied Movement,” 1987 31.25 x 19 x 14 in.

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American Craft, Volume 72, Issue Number 02. April/May 2012
Kansas City Art Institute graduate and fiber artist, Yulie Urano’s knitted works serve as an exploration of her dual cultural identity. Urano uses her hands as knitting needles and knits her garments directly onto her body. Left: “Soft”, 2009, cotton. Top left: “Green”, 2010, cashmere. Middle left: “Orange”, 2010, cashmere. Right: “Grey”, 2010, silk.

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American Craft, Volume 72, Issue Number 03. June/July 2012
From the humble wax crayon, Christian Faur creates sophisticated photo-realistic portraits.

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American Craft, Volume 72, Issue Number 03. June/July 2012
Jiyoung Chung’s sculptural art re-envisions an ancient paper making technique. Left: Chung’s pieces are hung several inches away from the wall, creating dimension; the shadows they cast and subtle movements they make have a haunting effect. Middle left: “Whisper-Romance VI-II”, 2007, handmade paper, paper yarn, 2.8 x 2.1 feet. Right page: Right: “Whisper-Romance IV: Perspective”, 2007, handmade paper, paper yarn, 2 x 1.5 feet. Middle: “Whisper-Romance II-XXX”, 2007, handmade paper, paper yarn, 3.1 x 2 feet. Left: “Whisper-Romance: The Life”, 2009, handmade paper, paper yarn, 2.9 x 2 feet.

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American Craft, Volume 73, Issue Number 02. April/May 2013
Michael Janis’s glass works, which employ the late-Renaissance technique of mirror anamorphosis, distorted images surround a silvered glass cylinder, in which the images may be seen in an undistorted form. Left: “The Optimism of Language”, 2012, fused glass, glass powder, silver, steel, 2 feet dia. x 7 feet. Right: “Lessons Learned and Unlearned”, 2012, fused glass, glass powder, silver, steel, 2 feet dia. x 7 feet.

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American Craft, Volume 73, Issue Number 02. April/May 2013
In striking sculpture, Michael Peterson expresses the imagery and the energy of the natural world. Right: “Coastal Stack V”, 2008, madrone burl, 4 x 2.8 x 2.5 feet.

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American Craft, Volume 71, Issue Number 06. December/January 2012
TV’s Nick Offerman stays grounded in craft.

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Craft Horizons, Volume 39, Issue Number 01. February 1979
Monoprint from a series by Peter Voulkous, 29 1/8″ x 20 1/2″, executed at Institute of Experimental Printmaking, San Fransisco (1978).

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American Craft, Volume 65, Issue Number 06. December/January 2006
Denise and Samuel Wallace, “Walrus-Man Bolo/Pendant”, 1993, fossil ivory, sterling silver, 14k gold, 3 1/2 inches high, limited edition 5/5, collection of Brendelle Walden. Photo/Kiyoshi Togashi.