Before his tragic death in 1992, Greg Curnoe had submitted to Brick Books a manuscript based on extraordinarily detailed research into the history of 38 Weston, his address in London, Ontario. The result is a journal/collage that traces the occupancy of that one small plot of land hundreds of years back into aboriginal times when land in this country was not plotted according to the laws of geometry. Deeds/Abstracts is an intensely concentrated and particular cross-section of Canadian history, layer upon layer upon layer. Brick Books is proud to offer this exemplary work-in-progress (a 500-year diary can never be complete) assembled by a much-loved and keenly-lamented Canadian artist of the first importance.

Front and back covers are after paintings by Greg Curnoe. The text includes 12 colour plates of photographs and Curnoe paintings.

Greg Curnoe was born in London, Ontario, and attended the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. Following the influence of Dada, he, along with other artists, rejected much of established culture and founded the Nihilist Party in 1962. He is the author, with David McFadden, of The Great Canadian Sonnet (Coach House Books, 2001), but is perhaps best known for his paintings, in which he incorporates captions into his images. He was a founder of the Nihilist Spasm Band, the Forest City Gallery, and Region magazine.

Greg Curnoe's profile page