Paul Thek's 96 Sacraments - Praise the Lord.

A Paul Thek Journal.

I visited the Paul Thek journal show in Glasgow a few months ago and came across his 96 Sacraments.He celebrated everything, the small, the everyday.He celebrated the present.

96 Sacraments 

1. To wake up Praise the Lord

2. To breathe Praise the Lord.

3. To touch the earth Praise the Lord

4. To pee, Praise the Lord

To make a fire Praise the Lord

5.To wash,to comb your hair, Praise the Lord.

6. To prepare breakfast, Praise the Lord.

To squeeze a Lemon, Praise the Lord

7. To eat breakfast Praise the Lord

8. To do the dishes Praise the Lord.

9.  To clean up, Praise the Lord

10. To write a letter, Praise the Lord.

11. To mail a letter, Praise the Lord.

12. To go out, Praise the Lord

13. To see the sun Praise the Lord

14. To do the shopping Praise the Lord

15. To talk with some people, Praise the Lord.

16. To buy the paper, Praise the Lord

17. To come home Praise the Lord.

18. To go to work Praise the Lord

19. To work Praise the Lord.

20. To have lunch, Praise the Lord

21. To work in the afternoon, Praise the Lord.

22, To notice the light changing Praise the Lord.

23. To see a cat Praise the Lord.

24. To see a dog , Praise the Lord.

25. To stop for a rest Praise the Lord.

26. To go home for dinner, sing Praises

27. To talk with neighbours, sing praises

28. To talk with a neighbours child, sing praises.

29. To kiss somone, sing praises.

30. To eat dinner, sing praises

31. To eat dinner with friends, sing praises

32. To eat dinner with children, sing praises

33. To eat dinner alone, sing praises

34. To have dinner with someone, sing praises.

35. To think of love, Praise the Lord.

36. To think of hope, Praise the Lord.

37. To think, praise the Lord.

38. To dream, sing praises.

More to follow ....


 The Whitney Museum of American Art says. . .


 Paul Thek’s “96 Sacraments” were written in one of his notebooks (#75, 1975). Thek wrote in a journal daily in the 1970s and 80s. Upon his death he had filled almost 100 journals, most of which were black and white composition books.

In the catalogue for Paul Thek: Diver, A Retrospective, Tina Kukielski writes: “Like most journals, they reveal deeply personal thoughts about friends, relationships, and sex, as well as Thek’s private shames and insecurities, and his efforts—like prayers—to be better in every way, especially as an artist.”

New Artist Book - Cosmic Forces

Cosmic Forces.

‘As Shakespeare said, you can call spirits from the vastly deep, but will they answer?’

Mr. Franklin. Hound of the Baskervilles. 20^th Century Fox 1939

Stephen Fowler explores his fascination with American B movies of the 1930’s & 40’s fascination with Spiritualism, séances and Mediums in his latest Artist Book, Cosmic Forces.

Throughout the period these cheap and quickly made films often employed the paranormal in highly effective ends, creating scary and haunting atmospheres to chill the cinema audience.

Introducing and utilizing the props of Spiritualism such as darkened rooms, ouija boards, floating spirit hands and voices and ectoplasm was an economical means to convey the strange and ‘other’. Another was exploiting the suspicion of the outsider in casting brilliant Eastern European and Asian character actors as Spirit Mediums. Scriptwriters drafted eerie, eccentric and sometimes profound lines and for these actors to speak,

‘those beyond, they know, they told me death would come among us’

  

Mrs. Walters. Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise, 20^th Century Fox 1940

Fowler will continue his exploration of hand cut rubber stamp printing technologies and homemade ink pads in the making of Cosmic Forces.

 

I made this book by printing a selection of my hand cut rubber stamps.

I stretched the paper and painted it with some very old antique red drawing ink, then I printed/stamped with thick strong bleach, oil and water based ink.

Cosmic Forces will be on show at LXV Books, 65 Roman Road, London E2 6ET from Wednesday 4 July until Tuesday 12th September. The exhibition forms part of a series of shows called Shelve Project curated by Amber Ablett. 

http://www.amberablett.com

For bookshop opening times call 020 8983 2087