FANTAGRAPHICS TO PUBLISH “TOWN OF MIRRORS: THE REASSEMBLED IMAGERY OF ROBERT POLLARD”
STUDIO DANTE HOSTS “DO THE COLLAGE” EXHIBITION DEC. 9 & 10 IN NEW YORK CITY
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On the eve of his first solo visual art exhibition in New York City, Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the release in June 2008 of TOWN OF MIRRORS: THE REASSEMBLED IMAGERY OF ROBERT POLLARD, a coffee-table collection of artwork and lyrics from the celebrated front man of Dayton, OH’s legendary GUIDED BY VOICES.
Robert Pollard is one of the most influential artists of his generation (SPIN magazine recently named Pollard one of “The Top 50 Rock & Roll Front Men of All-Time”), and although he is primarily known for his career in music, he is also a lifelong visual artist; Pollard has created virtually all of the covers for the dozens of records he has released over the last two decades, working mostly in the medium of collage.
Town of Mirrors collects the very best of Pollard’s visual art and lyrics/poetry, featuring over 130 of Pollard’s favorite collages, hand-picked by the artist, as well as around 20 new collages produced exclusively for this collection. Town of Mirrors is the first and most comprehensive collection of Pollard’s visual art ever released. Pollard’s collages are the visual equivalent of his poetic and imagistic lyrics, surreal and reminiscent of the collages of artists ranging from Jack Kirby to Winston Smith. The book features an introduction by Rick Moody (The Ice Storm), an avowed Pollard fan.
On Dec. 9 & 10, STUDIO DANTE in New York City will debut the first-ever solo show of Pollard’s art, “Do the Collage.” The exhibition will consist of more than 50 collages that date from 1990 through 2007. Using collage elements from 1930s-60s era magazines, pamphlets and found obscure pictoral paperbacks as his primary tool, he portrays allegorical personas and hallucinogenic-type environments to create small, almost random synapses of unmistakable compositions with sardonic titles, each serving as a story unto itself. The Artist’s media utilizes the archetypes of the working class, becoming pawn deities and martyrs found within the strata of near fantasy religion and the collective unconscious.
“Do The Collage” is being hosted by two close friends of Pollard: visual artist Todd DiCiurcio and actor Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), who, along with his wife Victoria are the Artistic Directors of Studio Dante.
Under the artistic leadership of Michael & Victoria Imperioli, Studio Dante is a not-for-profit, off-broadway theatre conceived and built to house progressive new plays in a setting inspired by the grand architecture and design of traditional 19th Century venues. Studio Dante is located at 257 29th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue) in Manhattan. Opening night is Sunday December 9th from 6 PM to 10 PM and the exhibit will continue thru Monday, December 10th from 12 Noon to 10 PM.
ROBERT POLLARD was a fourth grade schoolteacher until 1994, when Guided by Voices first broke into the national consciousness with the release of the album Bee Thousand. With over 900 songs registered to his name with BMI, Pollard is among the most prolific songwriters of his time. In 2006 Paste Magazine listed him as the 78th greatest songwriter of all-time.
TOWN OF MIRRORS:
THE REASSEMBLED IMAGERY OF ROBERT POLLARD
By Robert Pollard; Introduction by Rick Moody
$29.95 Hardcover
136 pages, full-color, 10″ x 10″
ISBN 978-1-56097-924-1
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 2008
“One of the all-time greatest rock stars in Western history.” – The Believer