DOCUMENTATION: Asemics 16 Edition #4 Chapter from Cheryl Penn (Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Cheryl Penn (Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa)

 

September 6, 2011 - Among other types of work, Cheryl Penn has produced visual-textual narratives that are both complex and highly self-referential. I interpret her fourth chapter contribution to the Asemics 16 collaborative book project as an application of her distinctive style to the area of asemic writing and forms of visual poetry to which it is inherently connected. 

 

This meditation on visual forms employs retro-images to produce fully realized and self-contained post-literature. Four pages of her chapter are transparencies with inscribed images, enlarging possibilities for layering effects. Above is the opening page (right)  and the final back page. Next are pages two and three:

 

 

On page two (upper left) is a square suggesting Jackson Pollock's action painting. This might seem out of place until we realize Penn is referring to the artistic climate of an era when concrete poetry first began to gain the attention of writers and artists involved with the avant garde. On the right is a strip of conventional concrete poetry overlain with asemic writing - a theme that runs throughout the chapter.

 

Tones of black, white, and grey are pronounced throughout the chapter: A reference to the eras when concrete and visual poetry were most commonly presented in black and white. The approach, I believe, is similar to a filmmaker who chooses to shoot in black and white for particular chronological and expressive reasons. Pages four and five present a spectacular display of asemics:

 

 

Cheryl Penn often works with organic, circular, and integrated structures. In comparison, this chapter is far more geometric and compartmentalized, referencing concrete poetry structures, especially grids.

 

Squares, rectangles, and grid forms provide the foundation for an asemic syntax that is explored in the chapter (and will be further developed in Edition #5), addressing the question: If there are symbols devoid of meaning, then can there be syntax devoid of meaning? The answer in Cheryl Penn's chapter is yes. This is a fascinating approach: Asemic syntax is created in a practical, material way relying - more than anything - on formal elements of the visual arts. The "blocks" of asemic syntax are combined to create an asemic narrative or an asemic fiction.

 

This is also  a reference to the era of printed text that gave rise to post-literate forms and the industrial repetition of standard fonts that define most concrete poetry. Yet integration and synthesis are not lacking in this work. They are located in the layering technique. In the case of pages four and five, we see a superb synthesis of asemic writing, symbols, and concretism. Here are pages six and seven:

 

 

These are beautiful pages providing a compare and contrast of asemics and concretism, ingeniously united with a grid structure. The realization of a post-literate text is apparent here. Narratives and meaning can be read, but not in any conventional sense. The "writing" is entirely composed of symbols and structures from the realm of post-literature - a kind of discourse with its source in literary and artistic tradition but also a departure from that tradition. Here is the final page of the chapter:

 

Another interesting aspect of the chapter is the use of the large grey asemic symbols. These also provide formal coherence and seem to be a reference to earlier work by Cheryl Penn, a symbol system she constructed that could possibly refer to her personal journey through forest of signs. I blogged this piece in September 2010:

 

 

 

We have come a long way. As ever, many thanks Cheryl.

More work from Asemics 16 can be found at http://cherylpenn.com/wpb/

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

I agree with Cheryl, the "push" and the encouragement to continue and develop an asemic writing, do asemics in mail art and the boekies, is Sloan...his observations, and his intros and his commentaries. And all that in a very understandable way. Then, his writings also become a great departure for discussion and more discussion...thus making us "think"  and push to new unlimited creations. Thank you, DVS!

[cheryl penn]

DVS - MAN! A great blog - thank you :-)!  I have found that working in/on all the books DEFINITELY projects one further into the mechanics - if I can can them that - of Asemic writing - how does it operate, what is it ACTUALLY about, how is it formed as language/written text etc.  The books - for me - have evolved almost as a manual on what Asemics is - in the context of a post-literate but visual language.  In # 5 which is doing its brain swirl I am working with backwards text imposition.  I know that sounds weird - but is an extension of what you are discussing.  This whole exercise has actually been an amazing experience - and your introductions - as with this blog and others you have written, succinctly contextualize everything we're trying to do here. Without these observations, written in logical sequence, I doubt wether asemics would be this accessible - so thank YOU :-) X

[Nancy Bell Scott]

I couldn't say it any better than Skybridge--astute commentary indeed, De Villo. This work of Cheryl's is jaw-droppingly complex and beautiful. This entire blog post has certainly begun my day on a high note.

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks Kat - there was so much emphasis in this chapter on "asemic syntax" that I thought this was Cheryl's Chapter 5. I also couldn't read her handwriting. This is her Chapter 4. I've revised to indicate that.

 

Yes - The Chapter 5 concept is Asemic Syntax. People have done this INCREDIBLE work with asemic writing and symbols in the earlier editions. We wanted them to think more about the forms, shapes, structures (syntax) that they are using. Those things make the work come alive too. The help make whole asemic narratives. So I think it's very exciting.

 

Thanks for all you are doing for the project, Kat!

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Amazing commentary, Sloan, for an amazing Asemics 16, Cheryl! Wow...this is special! And I am fascinated by the note about "syntax" in asemics! Yes, i see where we can build "blocks" of symbols or flowing lines, etc., and "build" into a "syntax". 'Never considered the possibility before. Are we on an asemic threshold with #5? Pioneering a whole area of asemics that hasn't been done before? Fascinating!!!

[De Villo Sloan]

Great comment Skybridge! You have really helped make Edition #4 a breakthrough. Cheryl's chapter, I think, is a significant addition. She's starting to explore the "asemic syntax" concept that will be front-and-center in Edition #5. I am thrilled to see contributors taking the challenge already. I think Cheryl's rectangles, squares, and grids are an ingenious approach to telling an asemic story. Thanks again!