PAPYRI at The Emily Harvey Foundation Venice

PAPYRI – Guestbooks, Bookworks and Similar Departures by guests of the Emily Harvey Foundation 2004–2012 Curated by Berty Skuber

October 19-27, 2012 Wednesday-Saturday: 4:30-7:30 p.m. and by appointment until November 11
Exhibition opening Friday, October 19, 6:00 p.m.

Archivio Emily Harvey San Polo 387 30125 Venice, Italy

www.emilyharveyfoundation.org ehf@emilyharveyfoundation.org

PAPYRI is a recognition of the presence in Venice of all the various personalities who have been resident guests of the Emily Harvey Foundation since 2004: over 150 creative individuals (painters, sculptors, architects, photographers, publishers, calligraphers, poets, novelists, journalists, critics, composers, performers, stage designers, linguists, and a theoretical physicist) from 25 countries on six continents.

In addition to the guestbooks which are found in the Foundation’s various residency apartments, the exhibition also presents a series of books and book-related works by Foundation guests. Some of the works were made in the course of the guests’ periods of residency in Venice, others refer back to those times, and many were made especially for this exhibition.

The artists’ response to the idea of the exhibition has been both generous and enthusiastic.
Many of the works which have already gone to press or been published as editions gratefully acknowledge the Foundation’s contribution to their realization.

GEORGE : THE FILM

A feature length documentary portrait film about George Maciunas, the founder and impresario of Fluxus, is now underway, led by Jeffrey Perkins an American film maker.

The life and work of Maciunas exemplifies the collaborative spirit helped define generations of artists to follow.

George Maciunas (1931-1978) was a Lithuanian born artist, art-historian, graphic designer, architect, urban planner, composer and contractor. Through his tireless efforts, Maciunas has influenced and shaped the course of contemporary art. He is also known for creating the first 15 artist run co-op buildings in SoHo. This documentary film portrait will provide insight into the life of a visionary revolutionary artist.  Support the project here.

"For the last two years," writes Perkins, "I have been traveling around Europe, America and Japan, to film around 40 interviews with friends, family, scholars and professional associates of George Maciunas and Fluxus, including Jonas Mekas, Yoko Ono, Richard Foreman, Ay-O, and Jon Hendricks. I, along with the generous help of dedicated volunteers, have compiled a wide selection of photographs, articles, archival film and Fluxus work from the most important Fluxus collections in the world, including the Jean Brown Archive at The Getty Research Institute, The Sohm Archive at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, The Netherlands Fotomuseum, MoMA, and private sources."

"We are now at the stage where in order to complete the film we are in much need of financial support. It is our mission to honor the legacy of George Maciunas which future generations can enjoy, learn and become inspired by. Our goal is to raise $20,000, all of which will go towards production costs: pre-editing, editing, acquisition of additional media, including still photographs and archival footage and the list goes on. As a platform to raise these costs we will go through a site called 'Kickstarter' in which we have especially created a teaser for you all to see."

Kickstarter is an all or nothing fundraiser, accessible for everyone to view and donate money if they see fit. You can visit the George Kickstarter page and view a short film, by clicking this link:

George Maciunas: Kickstarter Page.