A few years ago I approached Nico Vassilakis about a book publishing project. This, when Subtext was at the Hugo House and Pilot was nary a twinkle. The details are obscured with age. Nothing ever came of it.

But now, I finally found a way to collaborate with Mr. V.

Pilot Books is proud to host an installation of Nico’s visual and concrete poetry now through November, or thereabouts.

“Language is Hell and Other Concrete Poetry from Nico Vassilakis”

The piece featured above, and the rest of the installation, explores concrete potential  in the world of letters and punctuation. In the tradition of Henri Chopin and Sylvester Houedard, Nico’s collection includes both typewriter and rubber stamp compositions. But he’s not shy about innovative new media – composing on the iPod Touch or animating his work to produce silent yet haunting kinetic poems.

I know art shows usually start with an opening, but I’m always a day late, so we’re altering the format here. Our “opening” will be a “closing” so you know about it ahead of time. Brilliant, I know.

Thursday, October 22, 7pm – Come hear Nico read, watch him eat and drink, and perform other essentially meaningless tasks.