Card by Asemic Graphic Novelist Lin Tarczynski (Santa Barbara, California, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail art by Lin Tarczynski (Santa Barbara, California, USA)

January 4, 2016 - Lin Tarczynski is, in my estimation, an amazingly talented visual poet and an asemic writing pioneer. I am a big fan of her work, so I was both thrilled and surprised to receive this beautiful and very professionally produced card from none other than Lin. (I know Lin from the vispo community but not necessarily as a cross-over into mail art.) The content and breadth of Lin Tarczynski’s work is worth a long look, if you are not already familiar. Much can be found online. Here is a detail from the card:

She creates glyphs and larger structures that are language-suggestive. Lin Tarczynski definitely deals with scale in terms of asemic compositions. She has, for instance, created an ambitious asemic novel:

http://esgr-navigator.tumblr.com/

One very interesting aspect of the Tarczynski canon is her work with asemic comics and asemic-vispo graphic novels. The comics at her “Geranium Lake Properties” are FAB:

http://geraniumlakeproperties.blogspot.com/

This mixing of asemics with popcult is a fascinating idea; and in her hands, it is very successful.

 

Even this fine card with “Roots of the Sky” plays upon the idea of asemics produced for a mass audience, which is related to the concept of applying the obscure practice of asemic writing to everyday life. Many artists and writers have described how the practice of making asemics leads to an increased awareness: They come to see mysterious signs and symbols everywhere. Put another way, they begin to see the world as a text. Lin Tarczynski is one such artist/writer who is transforming our perceptions.

Many thanks to Lin Tarczynski for this unexpected gift!

[De Villo Sloan]

Wow, great response! I'm glad I could introduce Lin Tarczynski to some m-a folks who apparently don't know her work.

Vispo and mail art often overlap. The network was a primary conduit for circulating vispo on a global scale when it was ignored and rejected and unknown in the mainstream. As you can see from IUOMA, a lot of the better known visual poets participate in m-a. The network still provides many opportunities for visual poets and keeps people connected. But, of course, that's not true for everyone. Apparently Lin is not so well known in this primary audience.

One of the reasons why I feel an allegiance to Fluxus is because Fluxus has always been a huge supporter of vispo, especially concrete poetry. Look at people like Dick Higgins and Emmett Williams.

So anyway, yeah, Lin Tarczynski is excellent.

[chris wells]

Really beautiful and inspiring. Going to be checking out whatever I can by Lin Tarczynski.

[Dean aka Artist in Seine]

WOW, your estimation is correct, an amazingly talent.  Really like this one.  It sticks out, that's for sure.  TY for the blog & Bravo Lin.