9 optical poems
/9
- 9 optical poems
- 1966
- print on paper; 1 envelope and 9 sheets
- 29,7 × 21 cm
In 1963, Jiří Valoch abandoned the traditional linear writing of poetry and attempted to create asemantic poems from a minimal number of typing attributes (grapheme, punctuation). The outcomes were determined by the mechanical, optical, and rhythmical features of a typing device.
Valoch became acquainted with the visual poets Bohumila Grögrová and František Hiršal, who were one generation his senior. And thanks to them, he met Jiří Kolář and Ladislav Novák and also acquired his first international contacts (Eugen Gomringer and Heinz Gappmayr). The 1960s saw him become an inseparable part of an international network of artists, with his works being exhibited (International Exhibition Of Concrete Poetry, Oxford, 1965; Poesia Concreta Internacional, Galeria Universitaria Aristos, Mexico City and Exposition Spatialiste, Paris, 1966) and also published for the first time (by Something Else Press, bp Nichol, Ausgabe, Revue Integration, Nebulum, Tlaloc, Les Lettres Poesie Nouvelle, etc.). His first solo publication was a work on paper entitled “Hlas/Voice/Stimme/Hlas” that appeared in “Writer’s Forum Magazine,” followed that same year by 9 optical poems.
Valoch’s optical poems were written between 1966 and 1968, these being those early years when he retreated from the denotational function of language in favor of exploring its indexical structures. In these optical poems, the influence of op art is significant, with the layering of identical default signs creating “moiré textures.” Valoch’s optical poems were followed during the same year by rhythmical texts based on a semantic text’s rhythmical pulsations caused by switching graphemes of various sizes. J.P.
Valoch became acquainted with the visual poets Bohumila Grögrová and František Hiršal, who were one generation his senior. And thanks to them, he met Jiří Kolář and Ladislav Novák and also acquired his first international contacts (Eugen Gomringer and Heinz Gappmayr). The 1960s saw him become an inseparable part of an international network of artists, with his works being exhibited (International Exhibition Of Concrete Poetry, Oxford, 1965; Poesia Concreta Internacional, Galeria Universitaria Aristos, Mexico City and Exposition Spatialiste, Paris, 1966) and also published for the first time (by Something Else Press, bp Nichol, Ausgabe, Revue Integration, Nebulum, Tlaloc, Les Lettres Poesie Nouvelle, etc.). His first solo publication was a work on paper entitled “Hlas/Voice/Stimme/Hlas” that appeared in “Writer’s Forum Magazine,” followed that same year by 9 optical poems.
Valoch’s optical poems were written between 1966 and 1968, these being those early years when he retreated from the denotational function of language in favor of exploring its indexical structures. In these optical poems, the influence of op art is significant, with the layering of identical default signs creating “moiré textures.” Valoch’s optical poems were followed during the same year by rhythmical texts based on a semantic text’s rhythmical pulsations caused by switching graphemes of various sizes. J.P.