Clod Magazine
Stephen Whiting walking around as
'J. Hackson' in New York, April 2014.
Pictured after the launch of Clod Magazine issue 26, at the "Printed Matter" book shop, Manhattan.
"In the week prior to the shop launch, I advertised my presence in New York on social media, inviting people to stop me and buy a copy of the 26th 'americana' edition of Clod Magazine.
My posting included a photograph of the bag I was carrying."
Acrylic.
Acrylic.
Acrylic.
Series of artworks featured in issues of
Clod Magazine
"I have produced three series of painted works for the pages of separate editions of Clod Magazine. They all focus on intrinsic units of painting; namely 'stipples', 'daubs' and 'smears'.
The unapproving castigation of a painting viewed as being "a bit of a daub", forms the inspiration to turn an actual unashamedly daubed action-painting into a credible piece of work.
Part of the challenge was to paint all 200 works in as quick a time as possible, and all my smears, daubs and stipples were completed in the time it took to run a bath.
This attitude toward the Creative Arts is typical of Clod Magazine, whose literary and artistic character would seem to be that of "nihilism, with a family twist.
A further motivation behind the three series' of 200 paintings was to use up paint that had been hanging around the office for a long time."
While these action-paintings are produced on mass, and quickly, they are all signed by and attributed to co-editor of Clod Magazine
'J. Hackson', (one of Whiting's pseudonyms).
"Portrait of J.Hackson" (1999)
Acrylic on canvas.
"This image was based on a tiny doodle of the head of the character that writes in Clod Magazine, and was probably executed in 1989.
The enlarged acrylic portrait was painted ten years later for the Luton Art Show, in which it was not included."
"Clod Magazine Issue 19" (2008)
Fifty A4-sized collages formed the basis of this edition of Clod. The materials were chosen from paper collected off the streets of a variety of European cities.
This edition of Clod was truly a work of 'internationalism'.
Clod Magazine '3D pages', represented on wooden onyx ornaments:
"To make the leap from two to three dimensions, I have pasted Clod slogans onto familiar wooden ornaments, whose heads have been dunked into tester pots of paint.
These Kenyan onyx ornaments were commonplace in most UK homes from the 1950s onwards. They represent miniature statements of intent, blissful declarations of war, rather than ones of domesticity."
Painted and collaged wooden onyx sculptures, group setting.
Painted and collaged wooden onyx sculptures, group setting.
Painted and collaged wooden onyx sculpture.
A selection of other Clod works:
Rubber stamp printed 'nuisance insert' featured in Clod Magazine 28th edition.
The cover of this edition featured 200 collages made from the same four paper components.
A letterpress print included in the pages of Clod Magazine issue 23.
The cover of this edition featured 200 collages made from the same four paper components. Each composition is unique. (6 of 200 shown.)
Clod issue 27 featured a follow-up article concerning Luton graffiti artist 'Banks'. Here is one of 250 paintings attributed to the alleged artist, which provided the issue's centrespread.