The Book of O
(1958)



The Book of O, a series of abstract monoprints showing the letter O in motion, dates from the late 1950s in Darmstadt. The "O" letters were specially cut rubber stamps. The stamps were dipped in paint, then set in motion by hand on canvas. Art paper was placed over the wet images on the canvas, and I used my feet (for lack of better equipment) to press the image from the canvas onto the paper. The idea was an extension of the "o in motion" poem in my first book of poems (konkretionen, material no. 3, Darmstadt 1958) done by pressing the "o" typewriter key and moving the paper upward, downward and sideways.

This is the first time I have exhibited these early abstractions, probably because I sold my soul to the concretistas for a good (or bad) number of years. Recently I have come to like them again.