{"id":2194,"date":"2013-08-19T01:29:50","date_gmt":"2013-08-19T05:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/?p=2194"},"modified":"2013-08-19T11:54:36","modified_gmt":"2013-08-19T15:54:36","slug":"book-review-jess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/articles\/book-review-jess\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: O! Tricky Cad & Other Jessoterica<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jess-Open-Mouthed-Buffalo\"<\/p>\n

O! Tricky Cad & Other Jessoterica<\/em>, edited by Michael Duncan<\/p>\n

review by Cory W. Peeke<\/p>\n

O! Tricky Cad & Other Jessoterica<\/em>, published in 2012 by Siglio Press of Los Angeles, provides readers with unique insight into the work of the somewhat obscure, highly productive and witty artist, Jess. This 192-page, wonderfully designed soft-cover publication is an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with his work. Even those who think they know Jess\u2019 body of work will be both surprised and delighted by what they\u2019ll discover between its covers.<\/p>\n

\"O!<\/p>\n

Editor Michael Duncan\u2019s essay in conjunction with several interspersed writings by the artist provides both context and insight into the Jess\u2019 life and motivations. Born Burgess Collins in 1923 and trained as a chemist, Jess abandoned a career in science and moved to San Francisco in 1949 to study art at the California School of Fine Arts. In San Francisco, soon after his arrival, Jess would meet the poet Robert Duncan who would become not only his life partner but also his creative collaborator. Duncan\u2019s influence on the artist is often evident in both the artist\u2019s writings and collages.<\/p>\n

The paste-ups, Jess\u2019 term for his collages, are themselves mythology-obsessed visual poems. The compactly composed, complex images meld history and myth and often incorporate a lighthearted eroticism. The word play and visual puns in the works provide viewers with an intellectual as well as visual puzzle, creating a world in which it is easy for the viewer to lose themselves. The dense, elegantly constructed collages are visual enigmas that it is a pleasure to return to again and again, each time discovering something new.<\/p>\n

While the book itself is relatively modest in scale, the numerous reproductions are superb and presented large on the page. They give the viewer a wonderful sense of the texture, colour and the meticulous craftsmanship evident in the artist\u2019s originals. One of the treasures of the book is the reproduction of extant works from Jess\u2019 \u201cTricky Cad\u201d series. Published here for the first time, the works take Chester Gould\u2019s famous detective comic Dick Tracy<\/em> and give several strips a visual and verbal reworking. The result is a collection of absurd, nonsensical narratives that are simultaneously amusing and slightly disquieting.<\/p>\n

Not only are the artist\u2019s paste-ups reproduced in wonderful detail, the design of the book by Natalie Kraft is very much in keeping with the artists\u2019 aesthetic. Included in an interior pocket is a facsimile booklet of the 20-page collage work O!<\/em>. Another delightful element of Kraft\u2019s design is the dust jacket that folds out into marvelous poster-size reproduction of Jess\u2019 1967 collage Paste-Ups by Jess<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you have never experienced Jess\u2019 work or are only familiar with his better known paste-ups, you\u2019ll enjoy delving into these joyful, seldom seen and elegantly designed works gaining new insight into the mind of the man who made them.<\/p>\n

O! Tricky Cad & Other Jessoterica<\/em><\/a>
\nEdited by Michael Duncan
\n92 colour and 58 black-and-white illustrations
\n10\u201dx8.25\u201d, 192 pages, $47.50
\nISBN: 978-1-938221-00-2
\nSiglio, Los Angeles, California, 2012<\/p>\n

This Book Review originally appeared in Issue Five. To see other Reviews from the world of collage,\u00a0SUBSCRIBE<\/a>\u00a0to Kolaj or PURCHASE ISSUE FIVE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Jess-Untitled-Rothenberg\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

O! Tricky Cad & Other Jessoterica<\/i>, edited by Michael Duncan and published by Siglio in Los Angeles (2012), provides unique insight into the work of the somewhat obscure, highly productive and witty artist, Jess. Cory Peeke reviewed it for Kolaj<\/i> in Issue Five.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10,32],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jess-Open-Mouthed-Buffalo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QTD7-zo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1997,"url":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/issues\/issue-5-threads-of-perception\/","url_meta":{"origin":2194,"position":0},"title":"Issue 5: Threads of Perception","author":"kasini","date":"7 July 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Kolaj is a quarterly, printed magazine about contemporary collage. We are interested in how collage is made, how collage is exhibited, and how collage is collected. 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