64 / ROBERT GRENIER DRAWING POEM PRINTS

Greene Naftali Gallery is pleased to announce the existence of a recently completed series of sixty-four Giclée prints made from four-color notebook drawing poem images from the ‘agricultural year’ 2003-2005 in Bolinas, California (rainy season to rainy season—a sort of Shepherd’s Calendar without shepherd or sheep) called 64 (accidentally (?) being our poet/artist’s age at the time) by fundamental/foundational language poet (‘artist’?) Robert Grenier.

Rough translations of the texts of the 64 drawing poem prints (into ‘American’, as they say in France) showing their organizations into sets of 2, 4, 6 and 8 (roughly in accord with months of said ‘year’) are as follows:

TWO INTRODUCTORY IMAGES

  • AFTER/NOON/SUN/SHINE (April 2004)
  • RED W/OOOD/RED/WOODS (February 2004)

SIX POEMS / NOVEMBER 2003-JANUARY 2004

  • COLOR/SOAK/KED/EUKES
  • MOOER/MOOS/MOO/AT
  • MORE/SO/MOON/LIGHT
  • STROM/STREAM/STREAM/STROM
  • MOOER/MOOS/MOO/BACK
  • TREE/FROG/A ST/RETCH

FOUR POEMS / FEBRUARY 2004

  • SHOWER/AFTER/DARK/RAINS
  • MOON/IT’S/THE/RE
  • FROGS/GOING/SANE/MAD
  • ANY/AND/EVERY/FROG

FOUR POEMS / MARCH 2004

  • SNOW/PEAS/IN/GROUND
  • PLUM/AND/PLUM/WHITE
  • DARK/IT/OFTEN/WAS
  • BEES/CYPRESS/TREE/HIVE

FOUR POEMS / APRIL 2004

  • CORN/SHOOTS/UP AN/INCH
  • LEAP/ROUND/UP/DOWN
  • ELBOW/POLE/BEAN/UP
  • DANCE/STEP/COME/SPRING

FOUR POEMS / MAY 2004

  • THRUSH/WHICH/MESMER/IZES
  • MOOS/OUR/NEIGH/BOR
  • 14/SWEET/WILL/IAMS
  • NOT/THERE/AT/ALL

FOUR POEMS / JUNE 2004

  • SUSIE/I/LOVE/YOU
  • POLE/BEAN/FLOW/ERS
  • APRI/COT/JAM/JAR
  • AMY/HERE/MY/GIRL

FOUR MORE POEMS / JUNE 2004

  • BLUE/SKY/JUNE/DAY
  • WOW/CLOUDS/YOU/SEE
  • PLANT/SEED/POTA/TOES
  • ROUND/LAGOON/CANOE/ING

FOUR POEMS / JULY 2004

  • ROSE/BUSH/A/TREE
  • FLOW/ERS/AND/BUDS
  • SOLI/TARY/BARE/FOOT
  • SUNS/HINE/BACK/YARD

FOUR POEMS / AUGUST 2004

  • BLUE/SKY/HOT/DAY
  • YELLOW/JACKETS/SEEK/ING
  • ORIGI/NAL/MOON/RISES
  • ROUND/ROUND/POND/SWIM

FOUR MORE POEMS / AUGUST 2004

  • WATER/THE/PEAR/TREE
  • DEER/TO/DO/OR
  • YELLOW/AND/GREEN/BEANS
  • NUM/BER/OF/STARS

SIX POEMS / SEPTEMBER 2004

  • SEED/GLOBE/DANDE/LION
  • FRESH/AIR/6/AM
  • FRONT/TEETH/PAPER/THIN
  • GRAVE/NSTEINS/REDDEN/YELLOW
  • GOLD/DELI/CIOU/S
  • POTATO/POTATO/POTATO/POTATO

FOUR POEMS / OCTOBER 2004

  • PUMP/KINS/ON/PORCH
  • CREAK/KING/EUCA/LYPTS
  • A/MOTOR/CYCLE/ROAR
  • JUST/AT/DARK/WIND

FOUR POEMS / NOVEMBER 2004

  • STORM/FROM/OCE/AN
  • BLUE/ROSE/MARY/FLOWERS
  • TOMATO/VINES/ARE/BLACK
  • VIGOR/IN MY/RIGHT/HAND

FOUR POEMS / DECEMBER 2004

  • BEGIN/DARK/COLD/RAINS
  • FALLOW/DEER/ANT/LERS
  • COYO/TES/HERE/THERE
  • ACTUAL/WHOLE/MOON/SEEN

TWO CONCLUDING IMAGES

  • OWL/AN/OWL/OWL (March 2005)
  • MOON/HALF/OR/1/4 (June 2005)

The prints in the introductory and concluding sets of 2 and in the groups of 4 and 8 are each 17-1/2 x 23-3/8” and priced at $350, whereas those in the two groups of 6 are each 15-1/4 x 17-1/2” and are priced at $300. The 4- and 6-print groupings are also available as “sets” ($1,200 and $1,600 respectively) which come as either cut single prints, or as one large uncut sheet.

All are printed on Hahnemühle 308 gsm Photo Rag Paper. Produced on an Epson Stylus Pro 9500 printer at 1440/720 dpi with six, pigment-based, archival inks, these Giclée prints (properly conserved) have a projected life of at least 100 years.

Robert Grenier has declared the full cycle of 64 prints to be a limited/signed edition of 12 (whether 12 will ever be printed is a fascinating question best left to ‘the Fates’ and/or speculators in the life work of Robert Grenier!); interested persons are encouraged to contact Jay Sanders at Greene Naftali (212-463-7770).

A show of the 64 prints is projected for spring 2008 in Bury, Lancashire, as part of the second Text Festival organized by Tony Trehy (Arts & Museums Manager for the Bury Metropolitan Council), who is acquiring one set of 64 for the permanent collection of the Bury Museum