Lot 61
IAN HAMILTON FINLAY (SCOTTISH 1925-2006) §
STAR / STEER
Auction: 18 August 2016 at 12:00 BST
Description
1966, with original copy of accompanying description (transcribed below), screenprint, published by the Wild Hawthorn Press in an edition of approx. 400
Dimensions
57cm x 43.5cm (22.5in x 17in)
Footnote
Note:
The accompanying copy of the description reads as follows:
"Like many other works by Finlay, this poem takes its immediate area of reference from sea-faring. But far from being content with the vestigial representation of a natural scene, Finlay has succeeded in fusing two distinct interpretations or viewpoints in the serpentine structure of the poem. First there is the relationship of star to steersman. One particular star, singled out by its typographical reticence, displays itself up above - as if caught in the rigging of the ship. But there is also the overall structure of the poem, which suggests the winding course plotted by the steersman - seen from a star's eye view. The strength of the work comes from both of these images and from neither, since beyond the intricacies of the printed word and the metaphor of the ship at sea there is the intimation of our own course to be chosen, and our own star to steer by." - Stephen Bann. Published and distributed by Tarasque Press, The Trent Book Shop, Trent Bridge, Nottingham.