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In 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can't Happen Here, a novel about freedom of the press in the USA under a totalitarian demagogue who is elected President by acting like a populist buffoon. All laws were made to benefit corporations. Vermont Vigilance is a pamphlet published by the New Underground resistance on "an old hand printing-press" stolen from the basement of the newspaper office where the protagonist was editor, using 8 point type stolen a pocketful at a time. One way of distributing the pamphlets was to surreptitiously insert them into other publications. My binding is alum-tawed goatskin with a 22K gold title on the spine, and a panel of artist's blood, acrylic paint and lead type on a reification of the fictional pamphlet, which I printed on the same Albion hand printing press that William Morris used for the Kelmscott Chaucer. Vermont Vigilance is not a reproduction, since the original never existed as a real artifact. It is set in typefaces that were popular at the time the story takes place (1938): Old English for the masthead, 8 point Times New Roman for the body, and Goudy Sans for the headlines. This sculptural bookwork represents what happens when the location of the press is discovered. The floor is covered in copies of the pamphlet, pied type, ink and blood. I used some of my own blood, which is spattered on the spine and cover, and matched the color of the fresh blood with acrylic paint for most of the panel. The blood has, of course, turned brownish over time, so the acrylic maintains the illusion of immediacy.
In 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can't Happen Here, a novel about freedom of the press in the USA under a totalitarian demagogue who is elected President by acting like a populist buffoon. All laws were made to benefit corporations. Vermont Vigilance is a pamphlet published by the New Underground resistance on "an old hand printing-press" stolen from the basement of the newspaper office where the protagonist was editor, using 8 point type stolen a pocketful at a time. One way of distributing the pamphlets was to surreptitiously insert them into other publications. My binding is alum-tawed goatskin with a 22K gold title on the spine, and a panel of artist's blood, acrylic paint and lead type on a reification of the fictional pamphlet, which I printed on the same Albion hand printing press that William Morris used for the Kelmscott Chaucer. Vermont Vigilance is not a reproduction, since the original never existed as a real artifact. It is set in typefaces that were popular at the time the story takes place (1938): Old English for the masthead, 8 point Times New Roman for the body, and Goudy Sans for the headlines. This sculptural bookwork represents what happens when the location of the press is discovered. The floor is covered in copies of the pamphlet, pied type, ink and blood. I used some of my own blood, which is spattered on the spine and cover, and matched the color of the fresh blood with acrylic paint for most of the panel. The blood has, of course, turned brownish over time, so the acrylic maintains the illusion of immediacy.
In 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can't Happen Here, a novel about freedom of the press in the USA under a totalitarian demagogue who is elected President by acting like a populist buffoon. All laws were made to benefit corporations. Vermont Vigilance is a pamphlet published by the New Underground resistance on "an old hand printing-press" stolen from the basement of the newspaper office where the protagonist was editor, using 8 point type stolen a pocketful at a time. One way of distributing the pamphlets was to surreptitiously insert them into other publications. My binding is alum-tawed goatskin with a 22K gold title on the spine, and a panel of artist's blood, acrylic paint and lead type on a reification of the fictional pamphlet, which I printed on the same Albion hand printing press that William Morris used for the Kelmscott Chaucer. Vermont Vigilance is not a reproduction, since the original never existed as a real artifact. It is set in typefaces that were popular at the time the story takes place (1938): Old English for the masthead, 8 point Times New Roman for the body, and Goudy Sans for the headlines. This sculptural bookwork represents what happens when the location of the press is discovered. The floor is covered in copies of the pamphlet, pied type, ink and blood. I used some of my own blood, which is spattered on the spine and cover, and matched the color of the fresh blood with acrylic paint for most of the panel. The blood has, of course, turned brownish over time, so the acrylic maintains the illusion of immediacy.
Different lighting changes the appearance as the type reflects at many angles.

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It Can't Happen Here Sculpture

Richard Minsky

United States

Sculpture, Leather on Paper

Size: 5.8 W x 8.1 H x 1.9 D in

Ships in a Box

SOLD
Originally listed for $35,040

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ABOUT THE ARTWORK
DETAILS AND DIMENSIONS
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In 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can't Happen Here, a novel about freedom of the press in the USA under a totalitarian demagogue who is elected President by acting like a populist buffoon. All laws were made to benefit corporations. Vermont Vigilance is a pamphlet published by the New Underground re...

Year Created:

2018

Subject:

Political

Styles:

Conceptual

, 

Fine Art

, 

Documentary

, 

Realism

, 

Expressionism

 

Mediums:

Leather

, 

Paper

, 

Metal

, 

Acrylic

, 

Artist Blood

, 

Paper

, 

Other

 

Medium:

Sculpture, Leather on Paper

Rarity:

One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:

5.8 W x 8.1 H x 1.9 D in

Ready to Hang:

Not Applicable

Frame:

Not Framed

Authenticity:

Certificate is Included

Packaging:

Ships in a Box

Delivery Cost:

Shipping is included in price.

Delivery Time:

Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.

Returns:

14-day return policy. Visit our help section for more information.

Handling:

Ships in a box. Artists are responsible for packaging and adhering to Saatchi Art’s packaging guidelines.

Ships From:

United States.

Need more information?

Contact us.

Need more information?

Contact us.

I've been making art and fabricating objects for six decades, using all sorts of materials and techniques, from a giant astrolabe commissioned to hang over a hotel bar to collaborating with other artists to construct installation works. Much of the art I am known for involves social commentary and working with materials that evoke the metaphor of the subject. I also create formal aesthetic works in color and spatial relationships, and produce decorative works. I am often commissioned to create bookbindings and books. These range from presentation copies for a best-selling author to prayer books for a monk, guest books for private homes, heads of government, museums, libraries, weddings, special events.... My unique and limited edition works are in more than a hundred museums and libraries in the USA and Europe, including the Victoria & Albert in London, the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, The National Gallery in Washington, the Getty Center in LA, Koninklijke Bibliotheek in Den Haag. In 2017 the Guild of Book Workers presented me with their Lifetime Achievement Award,and in 2018 I was honored as Laureate of the American Printing History Association. In 2010 Yale University mounted the exhibition Material Meets Metaphor: A Half Century of Book Art by Richard Minsky. A free PDF catalog is available for download from the Yale website .pdf Yale Arts Library is home of the Richard Minsky Archive: and .aob.0008

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