When I stopped doing Coagula Art Journal in print in 2009 I promised three people I would publish books of their contributions to the publication. First was what turned out to be two volumes of Gerald Locklin’s poetry – BOOK ONE in 2011 and BOOK TWO in 2014. Cartoonist Jim Caron was next up with I AM NOT A TYPO.
The third and final longtime contributor to Coagula to whom I swore I would publish a compendium of contributions was Dianne V. Lawrence. A Canadian emigré and talented painter, she was (and is) a natural conversationalist with a deep grasp of what it meant to be an artist outside of her own practice. She could relate and still center the subject of the interview. What she produced over the years for the magazine were insightful peeks into the artistic process from a variety of perspectives.
The book of her complete Coagula interviews is available online BUT signed copies are on sale for the next month or so at ARCANA BOOKS (8675 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232) for $15 in person!
The book is worth it for the John Baldessari interview in it alone, but deep dives into art and process, emotion and reasoning, coping and pressing on – they abound here with unique, insightful conversations – artists as wide ranging as Sue Coe, Mike Bidlo, Mary Corse and the late John Miller are all thoroughly examined in their own words, guided by the social genius of Dianne V. Lawrence.
