Andrew Guthrie
Fillmore, CA
Antwerp, Belgium
www.likink.com
List
2024
Off-set printed perfect bound booklet
7 x 5 x 3/4″
Artist Statement
This austere little book, as the title suggest, consists of an amalgam of lists in an attempt to pitch the genre as literature, or otherwise, to present “the list” as a short-hand personal and/or social history. Therefore, it should be considered as tongue-in-cheek or in the conceptual mode of some of the original “artist books” produced in the 1970s.
The book, in its entirety, amounts to 80 pages, separated into seven sections which include: 1. List, 2. Top Ten, 3. Document, 4. Items, 5. Titles, 6. CV, 7. Names.
Of course, this entry would be better served if viewed in total, but due to the stricture of this contest, the entry is limited to a 10-page PDF, as well as a jpg of the cover. To compensate for this requirement, I will describe the seven sections of the book below (as well as including a sampling of each section in the attached PDF). Your indulgence is appreciated.
1. List – consists of “concrete” or “visual” poetry, or a kind of diagraming. Free associations by the author in which different synchronizations come to mind, sometimes amounting to a comprehensible list, at other times the kind of random connections one receives just before falling asleep. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of six (6) two-page spreads.
2. Top Ten – this section takes the format of the well-known numbering list, sometimes used as “clickbait” on the internet, or the obsessive ordering and/or ranking of any given subject that we are all prey to. A full “10” is sometimes not achieved in this section as the author moves on to the next thing, leaving any unfinished numbering up to the reader. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of seven (7) pages.
3. Document – this section consists of the possibilities of listing “every” in any given or random category, some of these things are personal and some of historical value. This section embodies the conceptual nature of the book in that it’s more about the idea as some of the proposed “every” would be impossible (or near impossible) to tabulate. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of seven (7) pages.
4. Items – this section shifts the textual emphasis to the visual (color and black and white photography), an ordering of practically random objects that fall prey to humanity’s relentless drive for meaning, to make some sense between the juxtaposition of any two objects. I’ve included two (2) spreads here of this section. In the full book this section consists of thirteen (13) pages.
5. Titles – though we may judge a book by its cover, that judgment primarily depends on the title, a thing which should be “catchy”, as well as implying what the book is about. In this section the author has assembled a list of potential “titles” that, if read as is, amount to a kind of broken line poetry. This also allows the reader to pick and choose and then continue with “the story” as titles evade the vagaries of copyright. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of six (6) pages.
6. CV – this section gets to the bureaucratic nature of listing, as well as the reams and reams of paper or digital files which are always required and then perfunctorily discarded. A CV also amounts to a short-hand biography, and these fictional résumés are provided with enough information for the reader to read between the lines. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of ten (10) pages.
7. Names – here you can assign a name to the title of your potential story, a list of characters who are named if not explained. This list was compiled from the odd names that would appear on spam emails during a certain phase of the internet. I’ve included one (1) spread here of this section. In the full book this section consists of eight (8) pages.