[Signalist archive — three unique works alongside original photographs and related ephemera]

Todorovic, Miroljub

Beograd: N.p., 1979. Thirty-six A4 sheets, three of which are folded in half, and one A3 sheet folded in half, all printed in black at rectos on thin white stock; ten black-and-white photographs; fifteen postcards printed in black and orange at recto and black at verso; and a folded six-panel brochure printed in black at recto on glossy white stock; all housed in the original C4 mailing envelope hand-addressed in black marker by the artist. Several items rubber-stamped in blue at versos, many of which are also signed in pencil, ink, or marker by the artist.

Provenance: From the archive of the German artists’ periodical ‘Die Zweitschrift,’ to which the material was submitted in 1979 but never published.

A collection of material related to Signalism by Miroljub Todorovic, reflecting the movement he founded in the late 1950s with the intention of revolutionizing language and poetry through new expressions and mediums, including the use of science and advanced technologies. Serving as an outpost for experimental poetry in Belgrade, Todorovi connected avant-garde efforts in Central and Eastern Europe with the wider international network.

Included are several interrelated pieces, among them three unique works compiled for publication: ‘COMMUNICATIONS,’ a set of eleven sheets with Signalist stamps and mail art wrapped in a handwritten note to the editors of ‘Die Zweitschrift,’ dated September 27, 1979; ‘AS LOUD AS YOU CAN,’ a set of fourteen sheets with Signalist poems, manifestos, and language experiments; and ‘LEGENDS,’ a set of eight sheets with uniform rectangular grids composed of different characters, with added hand-drawn abstract symbols. Also includes ten photographs, some of which appear in Todorovic’s artists’ book ‘ALGOL: signalisticka vizuelna, kompjuterska, permutaciona, objekt i gestualna poezija (1967–1971),’ showcasing a range of Signalist works, including poems and installations; and fifteen fifteen artists’ postcards from the same series, each showing a Signalist work with its corresponding title printed at verso; and a brochure for Todorovic’s 1973 exhibition ‘signalist explorations 1’ in Belgrade. A generous dispatch mailed by the artist in a hand-addressed envelope from his Signalist outpost in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Artifact Vibration Score: 8.7.

Sheets with trace amounts of age toning and handling creases, including a gentle diagonal fold line at top left corner affecting all sheets. Photographs with signs of having been affixed at versos. Postcards with offset rubbing at versos and partial sunning to rectos of five cards. Envelope with postage franking, stamps, and signs of mailing. Very good. Item 1316.

Price: $450.00