Recent Important Events

Chanctonbury Ring (after the Hurricane), oil on canvas

A Happy Dada Christmas / Winter Festival to Everyone.

Since the Whitechapel Art Book Fair in September 2010, I've been asked to exhibit my creative typography at the Here Gallery in Bristol, and my poetic photobooks Thames - The London River and The East London Line - An Elegaic Meta-landscape have been bought by the National Art Library at the V&A and the University of the Creative Arts respectively. I've also had a lot of creative-typography commissions.

My projects for 2011 include a poetic photobook about the Borough Market in Southwark, completing my Isaac Rosenberg artist's book which has been in preparation for a long time, and mounting an exhibition of my paintings in Lewes.

New images of Lewes Railway Land, and a painting

A new version of an oil painting I did in 1986. It's interesting that many of the preoccupations of my recent poetic photobooks (Kings Cross, The Euston Arch, Thames - The London River, The East London Line, etc.) are demonstrated here - the landscape and skyscape, the mixture os urban and rural, the impact of the railway, the steam locomotive as image, my own memories, etc. This scene has long been submerged under new housing developments. I actually travelled on a steam train from Uckfield to Lewes (they used to run from London Victoria to Brighton using this route - a great alternative to the Brighton main line), through this landscape, in 1962.

The photo at the top is one I took leaning out of the train window as it approaches Lewes Station, in 1962, having just crossed the River Ouse (by the Phoenix Iron Works, or East Sussex Engineering as I think it was known by then) and the western end of Cliffe High Street, and run down from the viaduct over the railway land.

The middle image is one of a series of photos I took in the winter of 1985-6 to form a 90-degree panorama of the Railway Land.

Peter Chasseaud and Altazimuth Press at the Small Publishers' Fair

I'll be showing all my artist's books and poetic photobooks at the Small Publishers' Fair on 24th/25th October 2008, including:

Kings Cross
Thames - The London River
Afghanistan - A Journey
Willow/Wilg/Weide/Saule (Ypres Willows)
The Euston Arch

Small Publishers Fair 24th and 25th October:
London - Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL
Free admission to Fair and all events, open 11.00am -7.00pm
Full details at: www.rgap.co.uk/spf.php

“The book as art form….”
the international event in London celebrating books by contemporary artists, poets, writers, composers, book designers, and their publishers

This year the Fair will be featuring more publishers than ever before –over fifty - with a truly international field -, two publishers from New York – Cuneiform Press and Vanitas and Libellum books; Chax press from Tucson, Arizona; Perro Verlag from Vancouver; Antic-Ham of Korea; and with publishers and presses from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and throughout the UK.

The Small Publishers Fair has announced this year's readings and events programme which takes place alongside the Fair. In a varied schedule, highlights include readings from Vincent Katz and Kyle Schlesinger, both poets, editors and publishers from New York, and the launch of the much acclaimed Reality Street Editions’ Book of Sonnets, to be introduced by its editor Jeff Hilson. Bill Griffiths’ The Lion Man and Others will be launched by readers from Veer Books, and for West House books, David Annwn will launch his largest collection to date, Bela Fawr's Cabaret.

The Fair brings together international artists, poets, writers, composers , book designers and publishers to celebrate contemporary artist publishing. Now in its 7th year, the Fair has attracted widespread interest, and praise for the quality of the events, and the immense variety of work on display.

More than 50 publishers are showing work , and all the books and editions are for sale, - an opportunity to buy work at an affordable price. With free admission, there's something for everyone – from top class writing, beautifully printed artists’ editions, multiples, and zines, to inexpensive pamphlets and artists cards. Several young artists’ collectives will be showing their work for the first time.

Organiser Martin Rogers of RGAP said
'The Fair has established itself as the national forum for the many small presses and
independent publishers actively promoting contemporary work. A number of the books and editions on display are special; and may not find their way into conventional bookshops, or sit on regular bookshelves.'

Programme details:-

Friday 24th October
Fair open 11.00 am – 7.00pm

6.00pm Press Preview with drinks

Saturday 13th October

Fair open 11.00 am – 7.00pm

1.30 – 6.00pm Performance, readings and booklaunches in the Brockway Room at the Conway Hall as follows:

1.30
Royal Holloway MA Poetic Practice:
Readings
2.00
Cluster Arts Magazine - Act Two
Selected performances and readings
2.30
Kyle Schlesinger, Cuneiform Press
3.00
Launch: The Reality Street Book of Sonnets, introduced by Jeff Hilson
4.00
Vincent Katz reads ‘Barge’,
a collaboration with Jim Dine
4.30
West House
David Annwn and Martin Corless-Smith
5.00
Les Coleman
The Cat Talked in Latin with Greek
5.30
Veer Books launch Bill Griffiths’
The Lion Man, and readings by
Sean Bonney, Johan de Wit and others

Admission free to all events
Check: www.rgap.co.uk for any updates

Camden Lock, Chalk Farm, The Lock Tavern

The Lock Tavern, Chalk Farm Road

The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road

On Tuesday (1st April) and yesterday (3rd April) I was doing a lot more fieldwork in the Euston - Camden - Chalk Farm area for my Euston Arch artist's book / poetic text project, and I've been regularly dropping in to The Lock Tavern (formerly the Wellington Arms and the Railway Tavern) for a pint of Peroni after a lot of footslogging. A pity about the price of beer these days, but apart from that The Lock Tavern's a great pub with a fantastic music scene. Across the road is the Stables Market in the old railway goods depot - visually brilliant with all sorts of Punk - Goth - Lolita - Burlesque outfits. I took some photos with my old 35mm camera as my digital camera malfunctioned last week (also here at Chalk Farm while I was taking photos of the remaining early 19th century houses on Chalk Farm Road), and when I've had them processed I'll scan them and put some images on the blog.

Like everywhere, the greed of property owners and developers is wrecking the subtle fabric and texture of much of our towns and cities, and I fear this is happening at Camden Market as well. I was also aware of it around the Whitechapel Gallery yesterday evening, where I went to a talk by Jean Moorcroft-Wilson about her new biography of Isaac Rosenberg (see elsewhere in this blog for images of my developing Rosenberg project). Along the main roads in Whitechapel the old buildings are disappearing at a rapid rate, and the sense of place and community is being lost. Even Tracy Emin, who's bought an old weaver's house in Spitalfields, is complaining about the havoc being created by over-development. My Kings Cross and Thames books were both very much concerned with the human scale and visual and material texture of urban landscape (Rilke said that we find out about ourselves from things we create - our landscape), and if our recent inhuman creations are anything to go by, we have a hell of a problem!

Out of control? Where is local democracy? And even then, local authorities are conspiring with developers to privatise public spaces. Whole areas of city centres being sold off and effectively lost to the people at large. Public streets being turned into gated commercial communities, with private security guards. I hear that parts of Liverpool and London's Chinatown and Camberwell have suffered, or are suffering, in this way (see The Guardian last Saturday). Tom Paine would have had something to say about all this, I'm sure. What unholy deal has 'New Labour' done with the big money? Too late to reclaim the streets?

Peter Chasseaud at Modern Works on Paper Fair, Royal Academy

Thanks to all those wonderful visitors to the Modern Works on Paper Fair at the Royal Academy (30 Jan - 3 Feb 2008) who shared their memories of, and thoughts of, London (Kings Cross, St Pancras, Euston, the River, the Docks), Afghanistan, Isaac Rosenberg and many other topics of conversation during the five days of the Fair. I hope you will use this blog to continue to share ideas. In this way my artist's books become truly interactive, inclusive and accessible.

Euston Arch
I took a photo of the Doric Arch at Euston around 1960, but have lost both it and the negative. Does anyone have one that I could use (acknowledgement given, of course) in a forthcoming artist's book?

Peter Chasseaud at Modern Works on Paper Fair, Royal Academy, 30 Jan to 3 Feb 2008

I am showing my artist's books in the 'Covered' section of the Modern Works on Paper Fair at The Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington Gardens, on the following dates:

Wednesday 30 Jan 3pm - 9.30 pm (Preview, by invitation only)
Thursday 31 Jan 11 am - 9 pm
Friday 1 Feb 11 am - 8.30 pm
Saturday 2 Feb 11 am - 6 pm
Sunday 3 Feb 11 am - 5.30 pm

My artist's books will include:
Kings Cross
Thames - The London River
Afghanistan - A Journey
Rosenberg (work in progress, inspired by Isaac Rosenberg's 1914-18 poems)

Peter Chasseaud, Altazimuth Press, at Modern Works on Paper Fair 2008

Peter Chasseaud / Altazimuth Press

I'm showing my artist's books at

The Modern Works on Paper Art Fair

The Royal Academy of Arts

6 Burlington Gardens, London,

I will be on Stand 8 in the 'Covered' section devoted to artists' books.

The dates of the Fair are:
Wed 30th Jan, 3-9.30 (Preview); Thur 31st Jan, 11-9; Fri 1st Feb, 11-8.30; Sat 2nd Feb, 11-6;

Sun 3rd Feb, 11-5.30

Work on show will include the following:

Kings Cross

Thames - The London River

Afghanistan - A Journey

Rosenberg (work in progress)

Peter Chasseaud (Altazimuth Press) at Artists Book Fairs 2007

My studio in Brighton (Phoenix Arts Asociation, next to The Level and St Peter's Church) will be open to the public Fri 12 (5-8), Sat 13 (1-9) - Sun 14 (1-5) October 2007 (Phoenix Open weekend: www.phoenixarts.org). You can see my paintings and artists boks there, and also a new mini-installation relating to my new 'dark desires' project. I will be there on the Saturday and Sunday.

I will be showing my Kings Cross, Thames - The London River, Afghanistan - A Journey, and Ypres Willows artists books at the following artists book fairs this autumn (2007):

Marseille (20-21 October)

UK Fine Press Book Fair (Oxford Brooks University, 3-4 November)

LAB 07 (ICA, London, 23-25 November): link to Marcus Campbell/LAB 07 website:
http://www.marcuscampbell.co.uk/

Peter Chasseaud's artists books in San Francisco

If you're in San Francisco, USA, in February 2007 look out for two of my limited edition artist's books - Kings Cross and Thames - The London River - which are being shown at the San Francisco book fair.

Details of these artist's books are given elsewhere in this blog.