Concrete Poetry: Ghosts/Rufige Kru/Concerning Concrete Poetry - Bob Cobbing & Peter Mayer

Ghosts, RTomens, 2019

It's turned out to be Concrete Poetry Week so far. I can't recall what sparked more experiments with text but that's what I've focused on since Monday. Those of you who have witnessed my work over the years will know that I've a long-held love affair with word/text manipulation, whether in pure 'concrete' form or combined with pictorial elements. There have been a few good books on concrete poetry published over the last few years, including this reprint by Slimvolume of the Bob Cobbing/Peter Mayer classic, Concerning Concrete Poetry. Unfortunately it only seems to be available now at a ridiculous price.

Here's a page I scanned from my copy for you to read...

Concrete Poetry Exhibition: INTEGRATION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

I went down to the Richard Saltoun gallery on Great Titchfield street and got a little lost which meant I passed the legendary Crown & Sceptre pub - "Why is it legendary, Robin?" - well, since you ask, when we lived opposite on Langham Street in a basement flat to which we once returned with looting booty after the Poll Tax riot of 1990 (oh happy days) a drunk used to sit on the doorstep saying "Crown and Sceptre" repeatedly, in a very drunken voice - so it became our mantra too. Now you know. Meanwhile, here's one star of the concrete poetry exhibition, Integration Alone Is Not Enough; a piece by Peter Green called An Oise Matin Poem (1964-65)...

...imagine that in your home. There's an eyeball that you place on top and it finally rolls out into a drawer. When it went missing on the opening night it was presumed stolen but was in fact stuck in the construction. When I asked where it was the woman said they were keeping it aside 'Just in case' - pah!

Whether it really qualifies as 'concrete poetry' I'll leave you to decide but it is a very impressive construction...

My favourite piece of the show, though, was this by Bob Cobbing...

...it's called Are Your Children Safe? In The Sea?

You can see why I loved it so...

Here's another piece by Cobbing called Bill Jubobe and Two Untitled Duplicator Prints (1975)

  

Cobbing again, Beethoven Today (1970)...

...you get me? 'Course you do. What's not to get about Bob Cobbing? Yet, as I was saying to LJ last night when she asked if there was some kind of concrete poetry revival going on, it's not regarded as 'art', so most galleries won't show it. Art snobs and other idiots have little regard for the art of concrete poetry or vispo - "What's the difference, Robin?" - well, since you ask, people have squabbled over that for years. I have my own definition, which goes something like this: concrete is more formal, austere, clean...whilst vispo is freer and can incorporate elements of collage or whatever. That's just what I decided...yesterday. Truth is that the terms are interchangeable. I think.

It's a good little exhibition. As you'll have guessed, Cobbing stole the show for me but here's another piece I liked by Henri Chopin called L'escalade (1970). Surprisingly, it predates some of my work but I swear I'd never seen it before. Honest guv...