Art Reports

[Billings, MT]: Sirqworks, [circa 1980]. [12] leaves, photocopied to rectos only; illus. Side-stapled gathered sheets with self-wrappers. Very good or better, with mild toning.

A selection of reproduced newspaper photographs, most from the 1950s and 60s, featuring art-related subjects (Pablo Picasso, Enzo Sardello, Betsy the Chimp) and original captions. The selection highlights the often unintentional humor of the images, and thus the absurdity of cultural production. Frank Ferguson (1947-2020) was a prolific mail artist working mostly under the Sirqworks moniker; his work blended sophisticated aesthetic sensibilities with DIY production techniques. Though he enjoyed a prodigious output, his work is largely unrepresented institutionally, and is quite scarce in the trade.