#diagonal cero

[garadinervi]

«Diagonal Cero», No. 21, Edited by Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Diagonal Cero, La Plata, March 1967 [Fondazione Bonotto, Colceresa (VI)]

[garadinervi]

«Diagonal Cero», No. 26, Edited by Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Diagonal Cero, La Plata, June 1968 [Fondazione Bonotto, Colceresa (VI)]

[garadinervi]

«Diagonal Cero», No. 22, Edited by Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Diagonal Cero, La Plata, June 1967 [Fondazione Bonotto, Colceresa (VI)]

[garadinervi]

Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Single paper sculpture from «Diagonal Cero» No. 23, Edited by Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Diagonal Cero, La Plata, September 1967 [The Idea of the Book, Portland, OR]

[journal3]

IN NUMBERS

from March 2012

The ICA’s exhibition, In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1955, is an effective attempt at showcasing a historical gamut of artist serials. The exhibition contains output from close to 30 publications, presented in pedestal cases, spread over the lower gallery. Given their captivity in vitrines the publications that shine the most are the image focused ones and those beautifully printed such as Vigo’s Diagonal Cero. Others such as Art & Language and the associated The Fox, are interesting contextually and important historically but as objects on display they seem lacking in what made them vital documents in the first place. As explorations of theory and conceptual practice they are part of a language beyond looking that is hard to present in an exhibition such as this. The way the artists’ hijacked conventional distribution systems or created their own independent ones based around practical collaboration and community focused working methods is at the forefront of why the publications exhibited here are so compelling. An exemplar of this was Permanent Food, a magazine, edited by Maurizio Cattelan and Paola Manfrin, that cannibalized other magazines and was originally composed of submitted images from a wide network of individuals. Others, informed by the tradition of Mail Art, also co-opt existing structures or systems for independent distribution.  Eleanor Antin’s 100 Boots, sent by post to various destinations created a strange, somewhat disjointed narrative to those on the receiving end. These people caught glimpses of these 100 rubber boots, acting as if they were travellers sharing moments of their journey with those left at home. The boots recall a migration from coast to coast; sometimes lining a road, at other moments set in a field, or even perched in a tree like a murder of crows. The sent images mark how words, pictures, news and narrative are sent and received in an ongoing process of serializaton that is always building on what came before it. The Toronto art scene was well represented as File magazine from the iconic art collective General Idea was on display, and somewhat more contemporaneous to the exhibition were Scott Treleaven’s, “queer/punk/occult” zine, This is The Salvation Army. It marked a line between generationally split art practices dealing with similar issues of queer identity and politics using the outlet of the serial publication. It was an interesting line to follow and a nod to the often underappreciated art scene in southern Ontario. While self-publication is becoming trendy and tantamount to living in a world where everyone blogs and serializes their every thought out into the social networks, it is important to think about the critical ways in which the format and function of serialization have acted as mechanisms for artistic production. In Numbers proved a valuable showcase into the historical practice of artist publications and a testament to that medium’s continuing vibrancy was the wide range of associated events such as Publish and Be Damned and the turnout they received from across London.