Item #100649 Romantic dadas. Involved in flying superlatives with Miguel Angel Rios. Jerome Rothenberg.
Romantic dadas. Involved in flying superlatives with Miguel Angel Rios

Romantic dadas. Involved in flying superlatives with Miguel Angel Rios

Paris: Collectif Génération, 2009. The most inventive book it has ever been my privilege to offer. No. 4 of 12 copies, numbered and signed by artist and author on colophon inside final gathering. 5 gatherings in folder. This tour de force is "constructed" out of BFK Rives and consists of a paper cover containing 6 loose gatherings of 8 pages each. . . sort of! Some of the pages are half-pages opening in various directions to expose the unexpected when turned. Nearly all are collaged, perforated, die-cut, even sliced! Ths is one of five similar works; the others are designed by Elana Herzog, Ruizhong Yao, Elana Herzog again (bound by Brigitte Benoist), and Julião Sarmento; All were published by Gervais Jassaud. Only one copy of each of these located in OCLC. The Rios version is in the Koopman Collection at the Koninglijke Bibliotheek, den Haag / the National Library of the Netherlands. In "Artists & Others: the imaginative French Book in the 21st century," Paul van Kappeleveen writes extensively of Jassaud and "Romantic Dadas."
"The work of Rios is rooted in Argentinian culture but incorporates many elements of present-day American politics and society. His Romantic dadas is reminiscent of a wall covered with graffiti."
"Jassaud's template for the publication was based on the idea that every page would be divided into two vertical strips, some of which were cut open. In each quire there was therefore a left or right-hand portion of the page that could be opened either up or down… That explains why Rothenberg's poems had to have short lines. The two panels on each page constitute an oblique reference to the Twin Towers."
"The pages of this edition are packed with images of dogs and flies. Parts of pages were eut out, which meant that in the 'coupage' process words or lines of poetry occasionally disappeared altogether. Paper patterns were also added. For example, the spiralling of flies circling around rotting meat was shown. He introduced drawings done in pencil as well as in pen and ink, sometimes in dotted line patterns, at other times so lavish that Rothenberg's poems became secondary to Rios' graffiti."
Very fine condition, of course. Item #100649

Price: $5,000.00