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106.
VILE Vol. 3, no. 1 (San Francisco, CA: Banana Productions, December 1975).
Ed. Anna Banana. 4to. Stapled wrps., 68pp. Illustrated, including altered advertisements taken from LIFE magazine.
The third issue of VILE, a magazine founded by Anna Banana in response to “FILE Magazine’s growing disdain for mail-art.” Loosely inserted is a holograph letter from her written on Banana Productions stationery to Joy Publications (publishers of Suck), dated November 20th, 1976, in which she refers to the drawing printed on page 5 of a naked woman attempting to perform post-mortem coitus with a hanged man (a notorious image originally found by Suck editor Bill Levy in a Paris bookshop). She continues: “By the bye - at SF International Book Fair VILE was cited by parks officials for obscenity - and one of the images they ‘informed me’ of was yours. They were trying to close the book fair on account of VILE and 2 comix ‘Tits & Clits’ and the ‘Cunt Coloring Book’ ”.
The contents of the “Christmas Special” include a letter from Genesis P-Orridge containing a lurid description of Cosey Fanni Tutti’s performance of ‘Omissions’ in Germany (though, as Simon Ford notes in “Wreckers of Civilisation”, “P-Orridge often spiced-up the contents of his letters to Vile in an attempt, no doubt, to live up to the magazine’s title”). The letter also refers to the COUM poster photographed by “Sleazy Christopherson, new coum person”, and concludes that they are “working on our rock group, named THROBBING GRISTLE, label pornorock. More on that soon.” Also prints two photographs of “flower & water paste applied to body of Genesis P. Orridge by Cosey Fanni Tutti, London Eng. Nov. 74” (from the “Gainsborough’s Blue Movie Boy” performance at AMP), and a mail art ‘Pastcord’ from P-Orridge, dated April 27th, 1973.
Other contributors include: Art Metropole; Bay Area Dadaists; John M. Bennett; Al Ackerman Blaster; Buffalo Ghost Dance Productions; Steve Caravello; Monte Cazazza; Robin Crozier; Ken Friedman; Bill Gaglione; General Idea; Klaus Groh; Geoff Hendricks; Ray Johnson; Eric Metcalfe; Michael Morris; Opal Nations; Daniel Spoerri; Robin Steckler; Synthetic Cowboy; Patricia Tavenner; Vincent Trasov; Edgardo Antonio Vigo; Jorge Zontal; and many others.
Wrappers and page edges slightly age-toned, o/w Very Good plus, with promo VILE International photographic postcard laid in. Printed in an edition of 1000 copies.
Price:
£75.00
