I finally was able to download a copy of the proof copy of Crag Hill and Nico Vassilakis’s Last Vispo Anthology, my incompetence on the Internet not being total.  Remarkable collection for the eye which includes:

 

I often wonder when I encounter designs like this one (which I think is terrific, like most of Kervinen’s work) what the particular point of having textual elements part of it instead of completely random shapes.  I may have answered that in some previous writing of mine, but today I came up with the obvious answer, which seemed new to me: letters, numerals and other typographical symbols are recognizable; this is aesthetically valuable because it great helps a viewer connect to the repetition and variation that makes any design what it is.  That’s why X’s and O’s are so common in primitive and ancient designs.  Of course, they also tend to disappoint the reading eye since they refrain from making anything linguistically comprehensible.  But this, when effective, is a plus, the way discords in music can be.

I have three pieces in the anthology, two of which are poorly reproduced–due to my never getting decent copies of them to the editors.  I spent a hectic couple of hours trying to upgrade them, and sent them off to Nico in hopes the printer has time and is willing to replace the bad copies with them.  Here’s one:

Its main component is close to a visual design, but it contains word-fragments that make sense when considered in the context of the poem as a whole.

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