Qua/Si/Za Lopolaroids - from Grigori Antonin

[Marie Wintzer]

 

New mail from the one and only Grigori Antonin to his devoted Marie Antonette :-))
A yellow envelope containing an A4 sheet which I will happily Pad and Ass on. And on the back of the envelope, Groot Suster (to me, every woman with blond hair in a comic = Groot Suster) is very much inspired by Mary. Now that's a twist! Usually it is rather the other way around. But very flattering, for sure! Good one Grigori.

 

 

I already knew that Grigori was a photographer, his Tokyo mail a while back contained a mysterious snapshot. Today he is sending me a couple of polaroids. Well, not exactly polaroids. A Zalopolaroid and a quasi-Zalopolaroid :-)) Could this be a reference to my failed Zalop card to him? NOT that I think that those are failed photos! Not in the least. I love experimental photography, and I think he captured exactly the essence of Zalop with those shots. In fact I will be posting them in the Zalop group, I think they will have much success.
Grigori, thank you for this great envelope, you will be hearing from Marie Antonette any day now.

 

 

[De Villo Sloan]

C'est un scandale! Retirer ce blog! Qui veut voir l'art desinges?

[De Villo Sloan]

You know, Marie, I try to "call 'em as I see 'em." I have good news and bad news. First the good news: The word play on add & pass is very clever (especially for someone who claims they can't speak English.) His image selection is always great.

 

I am in agreement with you that the Groot Suster nod is quite brilliant. The Gster did have a heavy hand in starting this New Wave of hi-jacked comics in mail-art. Almost a year ago, I think, he did his famous "Now Jen!" comic appropriation for Jen Staggs. There has been increased activity using comics ever since, in my estimation. He has a great eye for selecting ironic pieces, and this does indeed capture some facet of the fictional character of Groot Suster in a David Lynch sorta way.

 

The bad news: What is up with this horrendous photography? I don't get it. Yet another assault on Fluxus? Cheap shots are a dime a dozen these days; he can stand in line and take a number.

 

Or is this another pathetic attempt by the G-Man to make a mark in another medium? The brief foray into performance art certainly didn't work out. Eating a chocolate candy bar and meticulously documenting it as a performance has to mark a nadir in uninspired attempts to merge art and life.

 

I'll gladly take my ticket to see the unedited version of Warhol's "Man Sleeping" (played by John Giorno I recently learned) and sit through all eight hours rather than spend 30 seconds looking at chocolate and drool again. 

 

This move to photography? I'll fall back on my earlier position: Looks like a monkey did it.