Project Statement

by S. Muradi

In the "American Book Review", Corrine Robins describes the collaboration: "Artist Susan Bee preoccupied with images from the end of the 19th century, paints heroines in high-necked dresses, anatomically correct nudes in high-heeled shoes, images from ladies' magazines, and early 20th century children's books... [From] the first page, Charles Bernstein's postmodern language nursery rhymes announce, 'My breast is bursting with pride to see my son go down the slide.' And the verse continues its own brand of mockery in its pseudo-cautionary trip through the wild, wilder, and wildest of Susan Bee's paintings."

Little Orphan Anagram

Steve Clay

title note: [S. Muradi]

Agents

Steve Clay

type: initiating

role:
publisher Granary Books

Susan Bee

type: initiating

role:
artist

Charles Bernstein

type: other

role:
poet

Publication Information

publisher: Granary Books

dates:
publication: 1997-00-00

publication history: One edition only was issued of this work. [J.Drucker]

Aesthetic Profile

movement:
language poetry (local)

subject:
artists' books (LCSH)

themes: children, children's books, water colors []

content form:
picture book (AAT)

publication tradition:
livre de pieintre (AAT)

inspiration: Little Orphan Annie, obviously, in the punning mode of Charles Bernstein. [J.Drucker]

related works: Talespin by Susan Bee and Log Rhythms by Susan Bee and Charles Bernstein. [J.Drucker]

other influences: Humor and a sense of fun, nonsense literature in the Edward Lear tradition. [J.Drucker]

community: other [J.Drucker]

Exhibition Information

exhibition history: "An Exhibition on Susan Bee" at Granary Books. New York, NY.

reception history: In reviewing Susan Bee's exhibition at Granary Books, Robert C. Morgan reports: "The book format functions well for both artist and poet, often calling upon the condition of the absurd as seen in conflicting images or juxtaposed image/text fusions. There is a delightful interplay of linguistic resonances as Bernstein's light, yet heady, verse reverberates off the images, and vice versa. As with the paintings, semiotics is the name of the game—a game worth the play, and a play constructed from unburdened insight."