Great Ru and Miss Knight ... Unique Letter Art Object
Byars, James Lee
(Berlin). c.1974
A beautiful example of a James Lee Byars' unique letter art object executed in gold ink on red painted paper.
The letter, written in gold ink across the 4 sheets of scarlet paper, reads as follows: 'GREAT RU AND MISS KNIGHT' (1) / 'I WANT TO SEE YOU' (2) / 'ON OCT 10 IN' (3) / 'BERLIN AFFECT. B' (4).
The final leaf verso is inscribed: 'daad', suggesting that the letter dates from 1974, when Byars was one of the recipients of the 1974 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin scholarship. At the time, Byars planned the construction of a '333-meter-high golden cylinder' in the wasteground by the Berlin Wall that would 'rattle the sky'. Needless to say, that project was unachieved, but Byars' thoughts on the subject did lead to 'The Golden Tower', a 4 metre golden cylinder, and the action 'The First Step of the Golden Tower,' at the Galerie Springer, where visitors were lifted and instructed to speak characteristically gnomic phrases.
James Lee Byars (1932 - 1997), an artist with important Conceptual and Fluxus associations, was known to refer to himself as the 'World's Most Famous Unknown Artist'. Byars is often grouped with Duchamp, Broodthaers and Beuys in that his work is often in opposition to the idea of art as object although Byars maintained - with typical alliterative flair - his most important influences were 'Einstein, Gertrude Stein and Wittgenstein' (later 'Einstein, Gertrude Stein, Wittgenstein and Frankenstein'). His work, much of it based in performance and pageant, defies characterisation, however, his preoccupation with paper, cloth and other ephemeral material has ensured that much of his art falls into less traditional categories. An important part of Byars' oeuvre, influenced by his years living in Japan and the resulting interest in Japanese paper, calligraphy and origami, was the letter as art work, the object and idea in harmony, and the example presented here, is delightfully representative.
'Byars did, however, maintain communication with many important people in the art world, by means of an artistic correspondence that seems to have been his most consistent practise as an artist. Nearly every day, before dawn, he would rise and begin writing his spectacular letters ... They were an extension of the Byars persona, even mirroring his costumes in their strict use of a few select colours and shapes. They were simply mystifying, difficult to read, confusing in their syntax even where legible; Byars was unknown because he was unknowable. One might delight in (or be maddened by) the experience of unfolding a fifty foot long piece of pink tissue paper, only to find the gold writing nearly indecipherable, and the message as much a poetic epigram as a personal communication. One is meant to experience the letters as an aesthetic occasion ... '. (Taken from a contemporary review in Frieze magazine of the exhibition 'James Lee Byars: Letters from the World's Most Famous Unknown Artist').
The letter, written in gold ink across the 4 sheets of scarlet paper, reads as follows: 'GREAT RU AND MISS KNIGHT' (1) / 'I WANT TO SEE YOU' (2) / 'ON OCT 10 IN' (3) / 'BERLIN AFFECT. B' (4).
The final leaf verso is inscribed: 'daad', suggesting that the letter dates from 1974, when Byars was one of the recipients of the 1974 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin scholarship. At the time, Byars planned the construction of a '333-meter-high golden cylinder' in the wasteground by the Berlin Wall that would 'rattle the sky'. Needless to say, that project was unachieved, but Byars' thoughts on the subject did lead to 'The Golden Tower', a 4 metre golden cylinder, and the action 'The First Step of the Golden Tower,' at the Galerie Springer, where visitors were lifted and instructed to speak characteristically gnomic phrases.
James Lee Byars (1932 - 1997), an artist with important Conceptual and Fluxus associations, was known to refer to himself as the 'World's Most Famous Unknown Artist'. Byars is often grouped with Duchamp, Broodthaers and Beuys in that his work is often in opposition to the idea of art as object although Byars maintained - with typical alliterative flair - his most important influences were 'Einstein, Gertrude Stein and Wittgenstein' (later 'Einstein, Gertrude Stein, Wittgenstein and Frankenstein'). His work, much of it based in performance and pageant, defies characterisation, however, his preoccupation with paper, cloth and other ephemeral material has ensured that much of his art falls into less traditional categories. An important part of Byars' oeuvre, influenced by his years living in Japan and the resulting interest in Japanese paper, calligraphy and origami, was the letter as art work, the object and idea in harmony, and the example presented here, is delightfully representative.
'Byars did, however, maintain communication with many important people in the art world, by means of an artistic correspondence that seems to have been his most consistent practise as an artist. Nearly every day, before dawn, he would rise and begin writing his spectacular letters ... They were an extension of the Byars persona, even mirroring his costumes in their strict use of a few select colours and shapes. They were simply mystifying, difficult to read, confusing in their syntax even where legible; Byars was unknown because he was unknowable. One might delight in (or be maddened by) the experience of unfolding a fifty foot long piece of pink tissue paper, only to find the gold writing nearly indecipherable, and the message as much a poetic epigram as a personal communication. One is meant to experience the letters as an aesthetic occasion ... '. (Taken from a contemporary review in Frieze magazine of the exhibition 'James Lee Byars: Letters from the World's Most Famous Unknown Artist').
4 leaves. (Each c.210 x 540 mm). 4 triangular-shaped sheets of paper with painted scarlet-colour recto, each with short manuscript text by James Lee Byars, the sheets with irregular folds to fit together for mailing.
#47287
