Tom Phillips (1) (1937–2022)

You "read" this the way you might, in a certain mood, read the I Ching, Finnegan's Wake, or the Manhattan telephone directory: momentarily, at random, but with pleasure and the sense that there might be a real revelation in it somewhere, but you're never sure. It's an oddity, a brilliant one.

I think this is entirely more daring than Burroughs' feverish cut ups or the textual experiments of the Surrealists, being that it is so ambitious and multifaceted. Phillips' takes the idea of a 'found text' to another level, giving readers all at once a love story, an ars poetica, an art book, and a weird postmodern magic eight ball brimming with hermetic advice. In reading the introduction, it is evident that this is an effort that proves over and over that words and texts are astoundingly show more alive and pliable. A pleasure to read, to view, and to explore. show less

the art dandy Grenville, amused by the latest girl - the new audacity began devoting himself to Vice on the day specified,

"A Humument" is an altered book art project rather than a novel. Tom Phillips took a forgotten Victorian novel called "A Human Document" and started to decorate each page by painting, collage or simply scoring out the words, leaving a few words on each page to form a new story. It seems to be the tale of a man named Toge (whose surname can only appear on pages that show more originally contained the word together or altogether), and his on-off relationship with a woman called Irma. He also has a friend (or rival?) called Grenville, but it's all rather obscure and elliptical.

"A Humument" is an ongoing project, with each new edition of the book having some pages with new artwork, and the artist's aim is that eventually he will have replaced every page from the first edition. show less

The Postcard Century tells the story of the last hundred years in the 1900s' own words and images. Two thousand picture postcards and their messages give a vivid account of the day-to-day life of people and of what mattered to them, pleased them, shocked or amused them via the cards they chose to send. Year by year, the high and mighty, the low and worthy, and everyone in between talk of the characters, events, and hot spots of the century. Jokes from seaside, the disasters of war, the show more hazards of travel, the caprices of life in work and leisure--all are pictured and discussed. Each year begins with postcard views of the New York City skyline and of Piccadilly Circus. Though centered on the USA and England, cards come from every corner of the world, from Los Angeles to Beijing, from Antarctica to Alaska. Several themes emerge, notably those that evolved with the century: transportation (aviation takes us from the Wright brothers to NASA), the movies, fashion, vacations, and the role of women. Changes in the English language as used informally by Americans and Britons are powerfully registered. 2000 color illustrations. show less