The 1982 Gallery 1331 Xerography Calendar
by M. Hyatt & Exene Cervenka
When I began photographing the Hollywood punk rock bands The Plugz and X in 1980, I noticed that all the bands made flyers to promote their upcoming shows and that the band photographs on the flyers had a certain quality. Mid-tones were sacrificed for stark high contrast. What started out as unplanned style developed into a conscious look that even affected fashion. Xerography was well suited for this brash new music. I found a copy shop in Santa Monica that had the latest Xerox machine that let me manipulate the tones beyond the lighter/darker functions. I'd go in late nights and experiment. The portrait of The Plugz (see the Musicians Portfolio) made the day they opened for Johnny Rotten's Public Image Limited at the Olympic Auditorium was my first Xerograph. The Plugz began using the image on their flyers. That led to a four-foot tall silkscreen poster made by renowned graphic artist Richard Duardo. When I met John Doe and Exene they commented on how much they liked the poster and asked if I'd photograph X. Within a short time I began making Xerographs of X photos and selling them as postcards at X shows. After shooting the rooftop portrait of X I decided to make a calendar to display my work. While on tour with X in late 1980, I had the pleasure of witnessing Exene's highly creative graphic arts work. Her collage diaries were packed with found objects and her pen & ink drawings. Rubber stamps were also part of her arsenal. She was, I thought, the obvious person to create the calendar portion for each month. She agreed and quickly set to work designing each page, incorporating the dates of interest that I submitted. Each page is unique. The completed calendars sold at X shows and even at the L.A. County Museum of Art bookstore. Calendar measures 8.5" X 11". There are a few left of the 500 made for discriminating collectors. Save it for 2010. It'll work then too.
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The 1983 Gallery 1331 Xerography Calendar of Musical Dates
by M. Hyatt and Exene Cervenka
In April 1982 I drove from L.A. to New Orleans to attend both weekends of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Part of my objective was to make music related photographs for the 1983 calendar. I found plenty to photograph during that trip. Two images seen in the 1969 to 1982 Portfolio, the Blackie Richards one from Texico, New Mexico and the Kool Cigarette billboard seen in El Paso, made the calendar. Only two photographs from that period survive as Xerographs. Both Mary’s Bar and Gary’s Bar are available in the postcards section of this website. Calendar measures 11" X 14". All 1,000 copies of the '83 calendar sold out years ago.
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The 1984 Calendar of Olympic Games, Music & Orwellian Dates
by M. Hyatt, Exene Cervenka and 53 Mail Artists from Around the World
This calendar, in date book form, came about during the time I got to know prominent members of the Mail Art community in Los Angeles. I'd been making and collecting postcards for awhile by then and got involved with some very committed Mail Artists and their extended communities in many parts of the world. Mail artists tend to be eccentric and prolific, liking to communicate with other artists through the postal system. Mail Art comes in all sizes and shapes, though it's mostly two-dimensional and sized to fit standard mailboxes. According to Wikipedia, "the term 'mail art' can refer to an individual message, the medium through which it is sent, and an art movement. An amorphous international mail art network, involving thousands of participants in over fifty countries, evolved between the 1950s and the 1990s. It was influenced by other movements, including Dada and Fluxus. One theme in mail art is that of commerce-free exchange; early mail art was, in part, a snub of gallery art, juried shows, and exclusivity in art." I could relate to that aspect of the movement very easily, having found few outlets showing documentary photography, considered passe by many "art photography" gallery owners at the time. In May 1983 I mailed over five hundred invitations to artists worldwide. Participants could make art about one of the themes or combine all three if they wished. By the deadline I received over two hundred responses. These were narrowed to fifty-two works for the datebook. All Mail Art received was displayed in a show in a Los Angeles gallery during July and August 1984. Exene Cervenka created fifty-two unique weekly calendars containing a lot of information. Calendar measures 5.5" x 7". A few dozen of the 1,500 date books produced remain available for purchase. It'll work in 2012 if we last that long. Only George Orwell knows for sure.
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The 1985 Blues Classics Arhoolie Calendar
by Michael Hyatt
In 1984 I attended the Bob Wills Festival in Texas where I met Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records in Richmond, California. I'd been thinking about doing a calendar featuring album cover art. During the festival I got to know Chris and proposed to him that we do one with some of the great Arhoolie blues artists. He agreed, as long as I financed it. I agreed, so he loaned me the artwork. Five months later, after collecting hundreds of blues dates of interest, two thousand copies were pressed. Black and white album cover art alternates with color cover art. Big Joe Turner, who I got to know well, autographed 3 copies at a Willie Dixon tribute concert in West L.A. one night. Many of these sold at record shops, and blues shows and festivals around California (Carlos Santana bought two at the San Francisco Blues Festival). Others sold via mail order and at the Arhoolie Records Store. Calendar measures 12" x 12". A few dozen of the 2,000 remain available for purchase. It'll work in 2013, if the blues don't get you first.
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The 1986 Blues Classics Calendar
by Michael Hyatt
The concept with the 1986 calendar was to expand the labels from one, Arhoolie, to twelve. As it turned out, Arhoolie had two with Elizabeth Cotton and Clifton Chenier. The balance went to Columbia with Robert Johnson, Specialty with Percy Mayfield, Stax with Jimmy McCracklin, Kent with Big Joe Turner, Crescendo with Queen Ida, Folkways with Big Bill Broonzey, Sonny Terry and Browney McGhee, Zazoo with Mississippi John Hurt, Rhino with Slim Harpo, Peacock with Gatemouth Brown and Milestone with a blues compilation of various artists. Full color album covers dominate this collection. A Walker Evans photograph graces the cover of the Milestone compilation. Calendar measures 12" X 12". Likewise, a few dozen of 2,500 made of these fine calendars are yours for a pittance. Hang it on the wall and wait for 2014, it's right around the corner.
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