Laura Bell, a painter based in NYC, and Ian Ganassi, a poet living inNew Haven, met when both were artists-in-residence at the Millay Colony for theArts. In 2005 they entered into the collaboration that resulted in the ongoingseries “The Corpses,” a group of collages that began with a half-finished poemand several hand-scrawled phrases on a piece of printer paper stained withcoffee rings that Ganassi mailed to Bell. With each mailing, words and imageswere added and additional pieces were begun; at any point, either of them coulddeclare a piece finished. (The concept is a variation on the Surrealistexquisite corpse.)

The Corpses travel wherever Ganassi or Bell happen to be. Thegathering of materials has become a consuming habit: the studio, the street,basements, and gardens offer up inspiration. Poems, drawings, ads, photos, andfound objects are joined to paint, ink, crayon, and pencil and attached withglue, staples, tape—a visceral and basic process, the anti-Photoshop.“The Corpses turned us into scavengers,” says Ganassi. “We ended up trying toget the whole world into them.”

Completion is variable—a Corpse might travel back and forth manytimes or make only one circuit before being called finished. Some pieces areminimal, some layered. Some develop themes; others function almost as diaries(a hospital glove, a postcard). Politics, religion, history, and literaturemake cameo appearances. A note dropped by a stranger may become the startingpoint for a new Corpse.

While the process has retained its initial sense of play, the seriesquickly became more esthetically profound and demanded a level of attention andambition equal to the work Ganassi and Bell were publishing and exhibitingindividually. The Corpses became a third entity, greater than the sum of theirseparate contributions. At present, there are more than 250 finished Corpses,with a dozen or so usually in transit.