‘A HUMUMENT IS A KALEIDOSCOPIC FEAST OF POETRY AND ART'
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Word and image
Rosie Lesso looks at the work of Tom Phillips and finds evidence of a brilliant and restless talent in his illuminated manuscripts at The Dean Gallery
n I‘loo the artist ’l'om Phillips went on a shopping
e\pedition in Peekham. easuall} looking for a
hook to pla} with and adapt. (‘hanee led him to a cop} ol \Vll .\laIloek‘s .-I Human Horument. an obscure and relati\el_\ I‘orgotten Vietorian no\el. w hieh the artist later deserihed as a ‘I'east ol rieh and Itiin \oeahularv. Phillips set about reworking the no\'el. e\huming a new hook l‘rom the old one h} seoring out passages ol‘ te\t. lea\'ing hehind onl_\ a few e\oeati\ e words or sentenees and painting imager} around them with ink. watereolour or i—‘ouaehe. The new hook. retitled .I IllHII/HII(‘III.' .-I
Il't'tllt'tl \i't'toriun Novel. destro} ed the narrati\ e ol
.\lalloek's original siot‘}. turning it into a
kaleidoseopie least ot' poetry and art. the ranges of
sI)lL‘s within it ineluding eut out eomie hook shapes. w ater}. loose ahstraetions and serawled linear ligures. the eolours rieh and la\ isli. ()\ er the man} )‘Cttl's ot‘ its exolution Phillips‘ hook has aehie\ ed eult status as an exemplar of postmodernism. with tliousands ol‘ eopies published in London and New York and sold worldwide. Yet. in spite of this popularit) Phillips continues to work on and rexise new editions and pages l‘or his work e\'en toda).
The Dean (itllle‘t'_\“s eurrent displtl} ol‘ seleeted
pages from .-I Humumt’nt in the (iahrielle Keiller
Librar} eelehrates both Phillips‘ 7()th hirthda} and more than 40 )ears of engagement with the project. displaying earl) pages from the hook alongside reeent reVisions. I{\amining the pages laid out singularl) in glass eases t'orees us to absorb their intrieate intensit}. One page. for instanee. forms a dream}. abstraet blue-
green pattern. with heautil'ully nonsensical words reading. ‘she l‘olded her attention to the earpet. and arrived at impossible musie. \'el\'et_\. like love . . . men the piano listened with admiration.‘ ()ther delightl‘ul pla}s on language inelude phrases sueh as. ‘reason under a ruined hat. and a quiet nod to Samuel Beekett in 'as )ears went on. _\‘otl began to tail better".
Alongside these pages the eurator has thoughtfully laid out a number ol other texts whieh have inl‘lueneed Phillips‘ hook. 'l‘hese inelude William S Burrough's 'I'lu' .Vukw/ Lil/It‘ll (I959). I‘rom whose slicing. non-linear approach to narrative Phillips drew inspiration. Similarl). l‘raneeseo (‘olonna's Renaissanee no\'el lli'lmt'mtomui'ltt'u I’o/ip/ti/t': t/u' .S‘tl'lli' “I Love in (1 Dream (l—l‘N). the first novel to e\plore stream ol‘ consciousness. inl'lueneed Phillips' surreal and diseonneeted language. (iraham Rawle‘s pla}liul novel. Woman's World. is also cited as inl’luenee in its eut and paste sentence structure. ereated entirel} l‘rom ehopped tip and reassembled women‘s maga/ines.
The pages on tllspltt) at the Kieller Library are
intense and absorbing. yet the} reveal merely the tip ol'
Phillips‘ prolilie ereati\e output. He is also well known as a painter ol' large abstract paintings and intricate portraits along with his work as a writer. eomposer. theatre designer. art eritie and Roin .-\eademieian; here we are gixen but a tantalising glimpse into the workings of his brilliant and restless mind.
Tom Phillips: A Humument, Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 6 Jan 2008. .0000
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THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
=1: Tom Phillips: A Humument This exhibition explores the work of British artist Tom Phillips, focusing in particular on his book A Humument: a treated Victorian novel. Phillips first conceived this long-running (and ongoing) project in the 19608. transforming an obscure Victorian novel (A Human Document by WH Mallock) by excising selected portions of the text and overlaying the gaps with his own imagery. See review, left. Dean Gallery, until Sun 6 Jan 2008.
=3 Gillespie, Kidd and Cole: 1956-1987 The work of the Scottish architectural firm best known for their application of late Modernist and International style ideas to churches is exhibited for the first time in Scotland in this comprehensive exhibition at The Lighthouse. The work includes animations, blueprints and models that capture the simplicity and brilliance of their creations. See review, page 88. The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Sun 70 Feb 2008.
44 Smith/Stewart: Enter Love and Enter Death Glasgow-based artists. best known for their installations that manipulate the architecture of a building. use the structure of lnverleith House to explore love and death. The artists have filled the whole gallery space with heavy wooden beams that float through the rooms. to hover threatenineg above the viewer. See review, page 89. lnverleith House, Royal Botanic Gardens, until Sun 20 Jan 2008.
‘ 5-2’: Ho. 27,7 THE LIST 87