Art Metropole

#04777

Historical Treasures

Artist

Jack Smith

Date

1990

Publisher

Hanuman Books

Format

Artists' Books

Details

Softcover

ISBN

0-937815-35-7

Size

7 × 10 × 1 cm

Length

136 

Recently deceased publisher, poet and experimental photographer Ira Cohen (1935-2011) edited this small volume of the writings of Jack Smith (1932-1989) an American filmmaker and actor who is often cited as a pioneer of both underground cinema and American performance art. Smith’s work in low-budget camp and trash aesthetic was influential on such artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters. In ‘Historical Treasures’ Smith writes about the role of art, B film actress Maria Montez, aesthetics, art history and American society.

This is #33 in the Hanuman small press book series started by the editor/publisher Raymond Foye in collaboration with the Transavanguardia artist Francesco Clemente. Hanuman was the favorite Hindu deity of both men, and they decided to name their press after him. The Hanuman Books series has published works by William Burroughs, Allen Ginsburg, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Jack Kerouac, William de Kooning, Robert Frank and other visionary and countercultural writers and artists. The tiny format of the books — they measure 3” by 4” in size — is based on prayer books in India. They are hand-made in India, where each little book is colored with deeply saturated tones to produce a limited edition.