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O'Reilly, John (Artist/Photographer) & Tellin, Jim (Contributor) : John O'reilly: Self-portraits 1977-1995

Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston, MA, 1996

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 34 pages. Exhibition Catalog. The artist/photographer's debut collection. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as a softcover original only. It is the first of only two catalogs on his work published thus far. There is no ISBN. The Exhibition Catalog is now rare. A brilliant production by John O'Reilly: Regular-sized volume format. Glossy pictorial softcovers, as issued. Collage-photographs by John O'Reilly. Interview with Jim Tellin, the single best discussion in print on the artist/photographer. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name held at the Howard Yezerski Gallery Boston from January 6 through February 3, 1996. Presents John O'Reilly's "Self-Portraits 1977-1995". A pioneering and masterly retrospective collection that gives the artist's self-portrait genre a fresh and openly sexual twist. John O'Reilly has established a name for himself as a master collage artist who inserts himself visibly in each of the photographs he has created. Unlike the Woody Allen character, Zelig, who sought to blend in and become like the people around him, O'Reilly's presence in the company of the Masters is obtrusive, conspicuous, and rude. As the Interview reveals, the artist/photographer's purpose is to identify himself, who he is, what he cares about, and where he believes he belongs (by association) in the history of art. In lesser hands, this kind of collage would amount to arrogance and presumptuousness. Instead, they come across as witty, self-deprecating (O'Reilly rarely presents himself in the best light), and touching self-portraits. There is a vintage photograph of O'Reilly as a small boy which he inserts in another photograph of a huge elephant (he shows himself "holding" the animal's trunk), a near-seamless collage photograph that O'Reilly permits himself, the fulfillment not only of a child's fantasy, but also of O'Reilly's artistry. "Meditations on space, art, war, death, and religion merge with the homoerotic in John O'Reilly's intensely personal photo-transformations. His working methods of cutting and pasting mirror the energy inherent in de-constructing and reconstructing the psyche" (Francine Koslow Miller). "Alluding to countless classical, literary, and art-historical sources, the work is also intensely personal and enthusiastically erotic. O'Reilly seems to be rooting around in civilization's ruins and rearranging them into fragile but enduring monuments to the restorative power of the imagination" (The New Yorker Magazine). John O'Reilly has a cult following, but remains largely unknown among mainstream photography collectors. The very first full-length book on John O'Reilly, "Assemblies of Magic", finally appeared in 2002. An absolute "must-have" title for John O'Reilly collectors. This title is now collectible. This is one of few copies of the First Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: This is a Catalog, NOT a full-fledged volume. But its production values and rarity as the very first publication on the artist/photographer make it eminently collectible. Copies available online have serious flaws yet are priced as though they had collectible value. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. 27 plates. One of the most brilliant artist/photographers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JOHN O'REILLY TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

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