~JIM JOE VS LEWY: THE BOOK
DIARY / AN 800 PAGE INDEX OF COLLABORATIVE DRAWINGS BY JIM JOE & LEWY / LIMITED EDITION OF 100 / EACH WITH A UNIQUE DRAWING AS THE COVER / EACH SIGNED & NUMBERED ON THE BACK PAGE / $250 EACH
PS: JUST SOLD OUT – IT WAS AVAILABLE LAST TIME I LOOKED (LAST WEEK).
btw: 100 x $250 = $25,000.
check it out: JIM JOE VS LEWY WEBSITE / DIARY
one of the more interesting & original ‘statements’ of the JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’ POP-UP SHOW – was the book. if you couldn’t spring for a drawing, (line painting ?) on canvas
. . maybe you could peel off enough greenbacks – for a limited edition, signed & numbered, very large, DIY, almost BIBLICAL . . . book of drawings ?!!
I did.
the ‘book’ – was on the ‘sales’ desk as you entered the show.
but you couldn’t flip through that one – it was being kept in mint condition – as in, FOR SALE.
but there was one you could freely rifle through – hanging by chain, in a back corner of the room.
it was kind of a communal vs dominant bully kind of thing. no. really, everyone was very polite about taking turns, but some dedicated followers insisted on perusing the entire 800 pages. really.
it was like a giant – flip book.
inside, it was very straight-forward, with minimal fuss. a great lay-out, great graphics, font, etc. gray tones, frame on page, etc etc.
just like everything in this show: absolutely on point.
trend setter.
ahead of the curve.
DIY. LOW-FI.
but definite the image was . . KING.
lol, the pages were . . numbered.
oh gawd, love that. the placement, the scale/size. the font.
the sheer audacity, scale & . . irony.
800 pages.
429.
do I have to spell it – love how it’s . . TYPE FONT !!
you have to know . . when to fold.
action.
kinetic sculpture – in another era ?
also totally dug that any ‘conceptualism’ was treated – as just another part of the game.
a design / production decision. aka . . the way things were. that made the show pop. the totality.
in, and of itself – a radical decision.
also: vs. the ZINE !! that slim red-headed DIY art book . . stepson.
hand-written, hand-formed . . letters – rule. year of the monkey.
somebody will write the paper, no doubt: digital computers & the renaissance of the DIY script / calligraphy.
small gestures – that really really count.
this book – has heft.
ball . . and chain ?
(ever get an email . . from SEAN VEGEZZI ?!!)
yes, that is: JOWY ROMANO . . of subway art blog . .
shadows, too.
ghost army.
I went back to see the show again the next day, and to buy a book.
BENEDICT was manning the sales desk.
there were two copies on the desk, numbers 28 & 29.
I picked the one on the right.
besides having the most minimal of all dragon-y scrawls, it proclaimed:
YOURE NOT PERFECT EITHER.
take that (fill in the blank) haters.
go find . . your own ghost army.
plus, a little doggie – in the corner !!
29/100.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’, 148 BOWERY, CHINATOWN, NYC. POP-UP, APRIL 2-10, 2016.
OPENED APRIL 1, 2016
PHOTOS TAKEN: APRIL 1 & 2, 2016.