Samuel Beckett's The North

This essay closely inspects the manuscript cluster relating to The North (held by the Beckett International Foundation, University of Reading) to provide insight into Beckett's collaboration with Enitharmon Press and its publisher, Alan Clodd, on an eponymous livre d'artiste illustrated with three etchings by Avikdor Arikha. It outlines the intricate publication details of a short excerpt from (then unfinished) Le Dépeupleur, which was the first part of the late prose text to be translated by Beckett into English. With the help of Beckett's published and unpublished correspondence with Clodd, Arikha, and Barbara Bray in particular, the essay traces the translation process of both The North and what was to become The Lost Ones. Extending over several months, the translation of the short novel gave Beckett considerable trouble and, as appears from his letters to Bray, her involvement in it was tangible. Beckett's linguistic choices surrounding the image of a crouching woman at the centre of this limited-edition artist's book and the English title of the master text, The Lost Ones, are also considered in relation to other art forms, namely Auguste Rodin's Dante-inspired La porte de l'enfer and the statue extracted from it, La femme accroupie. In addition to that, the publication particulars of the Calder & Boyars edition of The Lost Ones (1972) are discussed in parallel to those of Clodd's The North (1973), unearthing the differences between the two translations as well as contractual obligations that shaped them.

Nikolai Zabolotsky and His Artists

The essay reconstructs the history of Nikolai Zabolotsky’s relations with artists, starting with his debut book of poems “The Pillars,” published in February 1929 and throughout the 1930s. Zabolotsky can be considered an artist both in a broad (an artist as a creator) and in a professional sense: before “The Pillars,” he attended Pavel Filonov’s workshop, created some drawings, and designed his handwritten books using the technique of Filonov’s “analytical art.” He included some of these calligraphic manuscripts in his collection “Ararat” (1928). He also painted the cover putting in the center of the composition an image of a spread skin, borrowed from Vera Ermolaeva’s illustrations for his children’s book “Good Boots” (1928). The same year Zabolotsky was asked to prepare a collection of his poems for the “Publishing House of Writers in Leningrad.” He asked another artist Lev Yudin (1903–1941), who collaborated with Kazimir Malevich in Ginkhuk, to make a cover for “The Pillars.” However, the publishing house went with a different design, and Yudin’s cover was lost. He also worked on the design of Zabolotsky’s book “The Circus,” which he envisioned as a livre d’artiste, as well as on illustrations for a never published story “The Indians” (1929). Vera Ermolaeva (1893–1937) made her own cover for “The Pillars” a study of which is preserved in the Russian Museum. She also collaborated with Yudin on drawing a poster for the famous OBERIU performance “Three Left Hours,” held on January 24, 1928, at the Leningrad Press House. Her remarkable cover for “The Pillars” is discussed here in connection with the poems, selected by Zabolotsky for his first book. His creative collaboration with the artists found its realization in the field of children’s literature, primarily in the famous magazines “Hedgehog” and “Siskin,” published under the editorial supervision of Samuil Marshak. The publication of Zabolotsky’s “The Tale of the Crooked Man” (1933) in “Siskin” magazine is of particular interest. The poem was illuminated by Pavel Kondratiev (1902–1985), who also attended Filonov’s workshop, and depicted the poet together with his son Nikita in one of his illustrations.

La matrice espressiva nel livre d’artiste di Iliazd

Due to the involvement of Iliazd in a range of major artistic movements, from Russian Futurism to Dada during its Parisian period, his work may be considered within a range of different study frameworks. These experiences led to an interest in printed art and later to publishing. The ‘architecture’ of the books he produced was influenced by the character of the zaum poetry he practised in his early years. His contribution to the genre of modern artist’s book is unquestionable, although it has not enjoyed the attention of much scholarship. This paper seeks to analyse the expressive devices in Iliazd’s mature work in illustrated books and to trace their origins, showing how they led to the emergence of liberal and original correspondences between writing and visual forms.

«The book of Angels» by Andrey Mashanov

В статье рассматривается авторская книга – «Книга Ангелов» Андрея Машанова, заслуженного художника России, известного сибирского графика, мастера офорта и каллиграфии. Подчеркивается, что книга выполняется в жанре книга художника (Livre d’artiste, Artist’s Book). Отмечается, что творчество художника лежит в области русской религиозной традиции с использованием современного языка графического искусства. Акцентируется: «Книга Ангелов» создается несколько лет и находится в процессе непрестанного развития, наполняется новыми изобразительными сюжетами, рукописными текстами. Анализируются отдельные развороты книги: персонажи и тексты. Отмечается избранная техника офорта, авторская каллиграфия и стилистика изображения – плоскостная трактовка фигур, гибкая лаконичная линия контура, декоративное узорочье, колористический минимализм. В заключение сообщается, что если станковые листы послужили первоосновой для работы мастера в новом для него жанре книга художника, то в настоящее время идет взаимообратный процесс: парафразы персонажей из «Книги Ангелов» с успехом звучат в цветных большеформатных офортах последних лет. The article discusses «The Book of Angels» by Andrey Mashanov – the Honored Artist of Russia, famous Siberian graphic artist and the master of etching and calligraphy. It is emphasized that the book is executed in the genre of the Artist's Book (so-called Livre d’artiste). It is noted that the artist's work lies within Russian religious traditions but is executed in the modern way and uses the contemporary language of graphic art. The statement about the continuous development of «The Book of Angels» is accented, as the book under the analysis is was created over years, is still under the development and is constantly filled with new visual plots and handwritten text. Individual pages of the book are analyzed deeply, including all drawn characters and texts. The etching technique, author's calligraphy and stylistics of images are noted as well as the interpretation of planar figures, author's flexible and laconic contour lines, the decorative patterns and coloristic minimalism. A reciprocal process, when Mashanov's large-format graphic sheets, that previously laid the foundation for Livre d’artiste, and recently became infused with a lot of characters from the «Book of Angels», is stated.

Edición de un livre d´artiste. Compartir nuevos espacios / Edition of a livre d’artiste. Share new spaces

En este documento se trata de exponer los elementos y circunstancias que concier- ne a la edición de un Libro de Artista, como obra que es de Arte contemporáneo, centrando los comentarios a lo que concierne a la producción de la obra, al igual que se intenta abordar las fases relativas a la difusión y una posible comercialización del trabajo.Edition of a livre d’artiste. Share new spacesThis article tries to expose the elements and circumstances that concern the edition of an Artist Book, as a work that is of contemporary Art, focusing the comments on what concerns the production of the work. It is also intended to address the phases related to the dissemination and possible commercialization of work