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UTNE Reader
From the Stacks: January 12, 2007
—By Danielle Maestretti
The Daily Constitutional is not like other art magazines. For one thing, it's not published in a highfalutin art-scene city, hailing instead from Richmond, Virginia. For another, it provides more space for artists' writings than for their works; the Daily Constitutional is not a glossy, expensive showcase with strategically placed white-space. Editor in chief John Henry Blatter explained his vision in the inaugural issue, published just over a year ago: "[W]e artists seldom write about our art and art-making in a forum that is readily available to anyone else." Such exposition has become the domain of critics, theorists, and gallery owners. But fret not -- the Daily Constitutional doesn't get bogged down in academic art-speak either. The current issue (#3) is a down-to-earth grab bag of paintings, photographs, letters, and prose contributed by more than 25 artists. At the back of the magazine, do what you will with 10 nearly blank pages crowned by random words like "hot poop" and "scuttlebutt."
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"...John Henry Blatter and Derek Cote, two sound artists and sculptors, put out a zine called Daily Constitutional, which features artists taking back the forum and writing about art themselves. The third issue was distributed at the Scope Art Fair in Miami and can be found at www.dailyconstitutional.org. Blatter and Cote also had two sound installations at Scope. One was a large crate visitors had to walk through to get to the fair. In that tunnel, the words New York were repeated over and over again until they became a jumble, appropriate commentary for the overwhelming experience of the fairs..." - - - Talking Art, Style Weekly, January 3, 2007 by Carrie Nieman Culpepper |
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"...Andy Warhol's Interview spirit lives on in sassy publications like BUTT and USELESS. Seeking alternative avenues, artists reclaim critical discussion in The Daily Constitutional, and, breaking out of the gallery context, Zingmagazine curates visual cross-fertilizations on its eclectic pages..." -Catherine Krudy from Art Krush |
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"...Visitors enter through an outsize urban garden by Agustina Woodgate, while a disembodied sound installation by Derek Coté and John Henry Blatter intones advisories, such as “Attention: Objects on display are more valuable than they appear,” in a self-satirizing take on K-mart’s “Blue Light Special” announcements..." Margery Gordon from ArtInfo.com |
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"This contribution, “for a(n) relation(s),” mixes artists from across the country and abroad, many of whom are documenting ordinary occurrences, mental musings and sketchy ideas for public consumption. A better title for this show might be “Scary Things I Do in My Free Time.” Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand’s two-channel video installation called “Coffee and Milk” captures the artists playing in their food, as it were." By Paulette Roberts-Pullen, Stlyle Weekly, May 10th, 2006, Read more at: Style Weekly |
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"Daily Constitutional: A Publication for the Artist’s Voice, vol. 1, no. 1 (Winter 2006, $4.28 paper), edited by John Henry Blatter, includes personal essays, tomes about groups of artists, an article by Jessica Slaven about annotated grocery lists, dog walking diaries, manifestoes, and the obsessive cataloging of ideas and resources by Jason d. Szalla, whose cataloging sheets are interspersed among these 15 other artists. Since the mission of this publication is to provide an outlet and forum for the individual artist’s voice, it succeeds with great aplomb. In fact, this is a collaboration and that makes it quite different from the isolated solo artist who works in the studio and finds a show or two. These artists express themselves with distinction and with skill, humor, and sense of audience. This is the bargain of the year, and highly recommended for all artist book collections of multiple publications. Hope there are more issues from Florida." Periodical Review by Umbrella Editions, Volume 29, No. 1, March 2006 |
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"Rendered in a variety of media, the results are diverse and, given its heavy-duty title, the show contains surprisingly little contrivance or gimmickry. (A few pieces and their accompanying statements, such as Oksana Jezebelle's hat made from sausage casings, Casey Kasparek's "Bastard" or John Henry Blatter's "The Diary," appear too vexing to engage.)" Review by Daniella Walsh, OCRegister.com, April 16th, 2006, Read more at: OCRegister.com |
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"With the slogan, A Publication for the Artist¹s Voice, and a somewhat formal script for the Daily Constitutional logo, there is an ironic reference to a time before modernism. It is a Declaration of Independence of sorts from today¹s art power-cliques and an artists¹ call to arms." By Steve Rockwell, d'Art International, Spring/Summer 2006, Read more at: d'Art International |
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"The image someone perceives of you is not just based on your visage. It's much more. It is the total sum of that person's experience of you, from the first impression to the last. Hence, most everyone at some point wonders about how they are perceived. It just so happens that Columbus artist John Henry Blatter wonders about it a little more than most." By Kurt Shaw, Art Critic, Pittsburg Tribune-Review, Aug 8th, 2004, Read more at: Pittsburg Tibune-Review |
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"The latter is titled "Shaving" and is by Columbus, Ohio-area artist John Henry Blatter. Consisting of a pedestal sink and a monitor that suffices as a mirror, the piece delivers on the promise of its title and displays a video of the artist shaving on the monitor. It might be simple, but a surprising inclusion in a show more akin to traditional media." By Kurt Shaw, Art Critic, Pittsburg Tribune-Review, Jan. 8th, 2004, Read more at: PittsburgLive.com |
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"Blatter’s symmetrical exhibit completely occupies a room that turns focus on the spectator by putting the viewer on a curtained “stage”—replete with proscenium—above which sit 120 John Henry Blatters. The Blatters—with varying shirts and hairs—are seated in what appears to be a balcony (fittingly, it’s a blown-up picture frame) and they offhandedly babble and shift in their chairs as they anxiously await the “performance” of the museumgoer. It’s like looking at art that looks back at you." by R.M. Avalos, Columbus Alive, July |
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"This generous grant allows the Museum an opportunity to continue its tradition of celebrating, and honoring local artists through the exhibition and acquisition of their work, says Annegreth Nill, the Museum's curator of 20th-century and contemporary art." Read more at: AbsoluteArts.com |
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"Blatter is presenting two photographs from his series "The Painted Nude," where he uses the body as a human canvas and creates ways of being erotic and sensual, Young said." By Charliese R. Brown, The Lantern, Feb. 12th, 1998, Read more at: TheLantern.com |
