Paradigm of the Tinctures.
Granary Books, 2007. Item #GB_136
6 3/8 x 9 1/4 in., 42 pp., wrappers with glassine jacket.
“Collaborations tend to start with a shared subject, theme or a notion of form to be aimed at. Paradigm of the Tinctures began with none of these—there was simply the proposal to make a book with Steve McCaffery’s poems and my images. This was not entirely a shot in the dark since we had a long familiarity with each other’s work to rely on, and I saw the possibility of adapting photo-based techniques I had used in my text-graphic work Memory Screen to the very different company of Steve’s poems. There was also for me an unusual challenge in that I rarely make visual pieces not based around words I’ve written or chosen: this book was to be a kind of holiday for me as a writer, making for a simultaneous sense of freedom and restriction.
"And so Steve sent me some poems. Attempts to make images in direct response came to nothing in themselves but led to a series of pieces which set off along a tangent I felt Steve would relate to. Before long he was matching poems with images more aptly than I could have hoped and at this point he named our book Paradigm of the Tinctures for the first time. As the work progressed junctures of more direct cross-reference at least seemed to appear but the reader must remember that there are approximately 3000 miles and a very large ocean embodied in the folds and turnings of the book. I deliberately drew on material gathered in the US for some of my images and Steve is prompted to English references rare in his work. The intermediary space of both geography and page is reached across at the same time as it is registered as real distance. It’s for the reader to decide where the meetings occur and the degrees of tangent vary.”
–Alan Halsey, Jan. 2007
Printed by Philip Gallo at The Hermetic Press, bound by Judith Ivry. This is from an edition of 50 copies, of which 35 are for sale; each numbered and signed by the poet and artist. As new.
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ABOUT ALAN HALSEY
ABOUT STEVE MCCAFFERY
Pictured: cover; pp. 12–13; 16–17; and 26–27.
Price: $875.00