MONOGRAPHY OF MY STAMPS
N.p. N.p., [1974]. Horizontal softcover 32mo in blank brown corrugated wrappers with a purple front endpaper and a brown kraft rear endpaper. Pages rubber-stamped at rectos in blue, black, red, or green on cream-colored stock. Unpaginated [26 pp.]. Initialed and dated by the artist in black ink at front endpaper and again in red ink at one of the interior pages.
Artists’ book by J. H. Kocman featuring a collection of twenty-six rubber stamp activities pondering the artist’s role and purpose. According to Géza Perneczky’s two comprehensive anthologies on artists’ stamps and assembling magazines, Kocman had the idea to ask his artist friends to mail him rubber stamps, and that the contributions he received in return would subsequently be used to create artists’ books such as these. Perneczky goes on to state that Kocman only created artists’ rubber stamps for approximately four years, beginning in 1970, but stopped his activities once he realized it had become a fashionable form of expression among artists. A notion punctuated by Kocman’s artists’ postcard that reads, “Sorry, I make stamps never more! JHK, 1978.”
Artifact Vibration Standard Score: 8.9.
Trace amounts of age toning to covers on account of the paper quality. Near fine.
Ref. Perneczky, Géza, ed.: ‘A HÁLÓ: Alternatív muvészeti áramlatok a folyóirat-kiadványaik tükrében, 1968–1988.’ [Budapest], Héttorony Könyvk, [1991], pp. 83–84.
Ref. Perneczky, Géza, ed.: ‘ASSEMBLING MAGAZINES 1969–2000.’ Budapest, Soft Geometry/Árnyékkötök Foundation, 2007, p. 159.
[TIOTB Catalog 6 item 7c.]. Item 1238.
Price: $450.00