Asemic Writing for Mail-Artists

Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett

Thanks for the details De Villo Sloan I once came across site about aliens one of the post was about this woman who randomly picked up a stone and started writing in what look similar to Chinese ideograms.

A lot of asemic writings I've seen look like automatic makings from the quick expressive nature of the strokes. I'm still exploring this and see where it leads and wondering if should contain random text or pure cursive forms.

hi again chimerastone - I have been threatening to write a piece about automatic writing & drawing (especially via Surrealism). I might yet do it & am pleased you see the connection too.

You know people who witnessed the Roswell NM (supposed) UFO crash claim there are pieces of metal inscribed w/ writing circulating taken from the crash scene, but who knows what to believe? There is a Canadian visual poet or poet who invented a sci-fi language for one of the big films, but I can't remember the writer or the movie at this moment but it seems like something that might be asemic.

There are so many approaches to asemics. For instance, look at the JMB-Jim Leftwich piece just below. That's done with overlaid, faded, fragmented pieces of text; it's a great piece, IMHO.

I received some very nice asemic work from E. Coles in Britain.

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/beautiful-asemics-iuom...

Many thanks!

David Baptiste-Chirot in Jacket2. (OK, on FB I said Jacket was a CIA organ, but they've redeemed themselves, IMHO.)

https://jacket2.org/commentary/david-baptiste-chirot-cinema-cathars...

Fantastic John!!!!! I like so much this work!!!!

There are some great examples here thanks. I read something about automatic writing I think closely related to channelling. You sit close to piece of paper and hold a pen on hours on end until your hand moves by itself and starts writing. This is was from Paranormal book.

My type of asemic writing to me so nothing can't be searched on google but I do get the rough idea. This something personal to me and must be explored on my own. There are lots of alien writing and letter from Sc- fi shows Star Trek, Star Wars and interesting glyphs from Doctor Who (I am a big fan). Don't be too pressured to write the essay take your time.

I wished I kept my earlier works all I have is scattered notes and so disorganized. Tried to see if there randomness had an order because don't believe such thing as pure random anything generated can be influenced by human mind. I was messing about on random.org generating numbers and list.

Not sure if I should include Roman letter form or use cursive form. Chinese writing derived from bones as I have seen an early example with in British Museum must likely the common form of today (Traditional Chinese not simplified) came from Han dynasty.

Generally, letter forms fascinates me brings out the mystery of the meaning.

dear chimerastone - thank you for your thoughts and information.

Michael Jacobson's New Post-Literates blog is currently a main venue for asemic writing today. He posts work by people from all over the world & the diversity is astounding:

http://thenewpostliterate.blogspot.com/

Cursive forms seem to be a favorite among people working in this area today.

Automatic writing - yes, my understanding is that the tradition of automatic writing is connected to mediums & channeling: the occult.

However, Andre Breton advocated for automatic writing & drawing because he felt it provided a direct link to the unconscious. I believe he discusses this in the "Surrealist Manifesto," in fact. I don't have a copy handy. (Where is Claire Allan/Cleo? She would know immediately.)

I did experiment with it with an artist friend following Breton's guidelines. That involves distracting the attention of the writer/artist so conscious attention is diverted elsewhere while the hand creates the work. There are a number of methods for creating the distraction. I believe there was some interest in automatic writing among the early psycho-analysts.  Some asemic writers have been working with inkblots based on the old Rorschach tests - very interesting results.

I trace much contemporary asemic work to Brion Gysin's work (circa 1950s?). He started with Arabic-Japanese grids.

Gysin always claimed Breton expelled him from the Surrealist movement - so the path always seems to point back to Surrealism. (Gysin likely exaggerated in his claim that Breton actually expelled him.)

I saw today on FB that Miekal And posted a page from Sterne's "Tristram Shandy" (18th century British novel) that appeared to be asemic writing. So you have an (albeit) splintered tradition of asemics that goes back to the archaic. You just have to stitch it together.

Wow thanks for explaining to me and sharing your thoughts on this subject. I did a lot stuff in the past during this time I thought it was me day dreaming.

This shows everything is connected and not necessary bound to single theme. If I get a chance I will get scan of alien writings was talking about and contribute something to What is asemic writing thread.

Theses are images I've saved from Fortean times magazine the article was about Mario Pazzaglini he had collections of alien writing. There's a book about him Alien Writing: An Interview With Dr. Mario Pazzaglini

Notice on last line becomes cursive.

More images from the same magazine.

great stuff, chimera.  some of it looks a bit like the maya glyphs recorded, and garbled, by Diego de Landa in his Relaci'on de las cosas de Yucat'an.

much interested @chimerastone, @ De Villo and @John!!!!

thanks for the information!!!!

Claudia McGill in Pennsylvania, USA, sent a great asemic cut-up. Thx Claudia:

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/asemic-cut-up-by-claud...

Dirty Look Asemics

In case anyone in Po Biz has not heard the sad news: The great Black poet Amiri Baraka aka Le Roi Jones has passed. His Floating Bear w/ Diane Di Prima was a major zine & friend of Ray Johnson.

http://www.jackkerouacschool.org/2014/01/09/amiri-baraka-1934-2014/

Received great asemic-vispo work from Claudia Garcia in Argentina. Many thanks!

Work is documented here:

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/asemics-by-claudia-gar...

You are welcome De Villo!!!!

Neonism #35

Excellent De Villo. I can see people dancing!!!!!

Claudia, feel free to post your work in the group any time!

Received really interesting work from Alicia Starr in Iowa that offers possibilities for asemic composition.

Further documentation:http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/seriously-disrupted-te...

Thanksssss  De Villo

Alicia art is fantastic and I read the dialogue bewteen of you about the technics. very interesting!!!!!!

A little SSP (Shameless Self-Promotion). I'm on Michael Jacobson's Post-literate blog today:

http://thenewpostliterate.blogspot.com/2014/02/neonism-14-from-de-v...

With Alexander, I weep. There are no worlds left to conquer.

don;t conquer it, change it

Fab Claudia Garcia! Fab! Can I re-post that piece on the MinXus-Lynxus blog (if I can do the transfer)?

Thanks to Bruno Cassaglia for sharing his amazing work. Bruno, please feel free to keep posting.

Thanks JMB - I'll start by changing my socks.

Saw your Mayan pics on FB. You look like an archeologist, like Charles Olson when he was down there doing his "Archaeologist of Morning" thing. A lifelong dream of mine has been to see those ruins. Have to do it vicariously through you at present.

Also just did a blog on the old SMILE zine - read you were a USA distributor or editor - anything you haven't been involved in?

Thanks all asemicists - keep it coming!

Thanks De Villo!!!!!! ok, no problem for me. you can post it. Then give the link to see, please.

not sure what i actually ever DID re Smile, but then that was years ago, and memory dims...................  keep smiling, however!

Wow--great asemic works lately!! One and all. Very different-from-each-other styles. Here are 2 of 5 just put up in photos, before noticing asemic emails of the past few days: 

(Sorry they're so HUGE! You never know.)

Neonism #48

DVS, this one feels like a comment on education, learning for industry, or something.  Love this one!

Great works De Villo and Nancy!!!!

First, thanks to Nancy Bell Scott, Claudia Garcia & John M. Bennett for these fantastic & diverse posts.

Rebecca, I am doing this Neonism series until I have exhausted it, basically. This one does have a high-tech quality, circuit quality, mechanistic. The earlier pieces are more organic, bio-poetry. Glad you noticed.

Is it Asemic for you?

Claudia - beautiful - works for me. That one is cursive & fluid - I can see letters & hints or letters & unknown symbols.

I am proud that this group has always been open and accepting of any work posted the artist wants to share & believes is asemic or has asemic elements.

Recent posts show there is an incredible range in approaches to asemics.

No one should ever hesitate to post.

Thankssss DVS for your comments!!!!!

This work is digital, but I used this, that I made with a rubber stamp

Oh yes, I understand, Claudia. I love the asemics with the stamps. I meant that I was working with scans to transfer to M-L. I think we have that worked out.

My Neonism pieces are a digital/hard copy process. Some people are doing purely digital asemic compositions. I think Bruno Cassaglia is all digital, further down the stream.

I very much appreciate your wonderful posts.

I like the digital and non digital works!!!!

You make fantastic works DVS. They have a great composition and the colour is wonderful

I like so much the Bruno works too.

Thanks for answering

NBS - may I blog those two pieces you posted (on music sheets) at M-L?

Absolutely--you certainly may, with thanks.

Received a beautiful piece from Dan Mouer (Richmond, Virgina, USA) with asemic elements: