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17/6/2010

Un coup de livres (A Throw of Books)

Fundacion Juan March, Cuenca

Stéphane Mallarmé’s well-known dictum, "all earthly existence must ultimately be contained in a book" saw a resurrection in the art world during the 1960s. Books broke away from their role as a mere support for text, thus acquiring the status of an "art object" able to "compete" with other works of art. Antecedents to this form of art can be found in the fine books edited, illustrated, and designed by avant-garde artists in the early twentieth century. During the 1960s and 70s, this medium acquired features of its own: the concept of creating a book as a work of art altered its visual appearance. Some books were transformed into documents recording "actions" or performances, whereas others were conceived as self-referential objects or vehicles for conceptual, verbal, and material experiments. Conceptual artists, as well as those who believed the artist was an agent of social change, were especially inclined towards this form of art.

The present exhibition features a selection of "works" dating from the 1960s and 70s, consisting mainly of books but also including multiples, magazines, and audiovisual material by twenty-four artists. The pieces on display draw from the Archive for Small Press & Communication (ASPC) at the Weserburg Museum in Bremen, the first museum in the world to house an independent section devoted to artists’ books. This museum also created a research center which holds a collection of artists’ publications dating from the 1960s and 70s, thus representing the work of hundreds of artists from more than twenty-five countries. More than 35.000 publications and documents comprise this collection and provide a complete overview of the most influential art movements from the 1960s onwards: Conceptual art, Fluxus, Land art, Minimal or Pop art. The archive’s creator, Guy Schraenen, is the guest curator for the present exhibition. An editor, essayist, filmmaker, and exhibition curator, Schraenen founded the group Cela (1957/62), as well as Kontakt gallery (1965/78) and the publishing company Guy Schraenen éditeur (1973).

Extracted from the Introduction, by Guy Schraenen in the catalogue:

The choice of the title Un coup de livres (A Throw of Books) for this exhibition is a homage to Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898) and to his book —and flagship work— Un coup de dés jamais n’abolira le hasard (A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance). Written in 1897, shortly before his death, the book was published in París that same year in the journal Cosmopolis. But it was only in 1914 that it was published by the NRF (Nouvelle Revue Française) in the form we know today. Stéphane Mallarmé conceived a book—"the" book—as a place in which poetic and visual spaces were inseparable.

We have arrived at the very heart of our subject, that is, the book in the strictest sense of the term: the book not as a receptacle for a text or for a series of images, or indeed for both, but as a space in its own right. Bridging the gap created in the art world by the artists of the avant-garde movements of the 1960s, publications of all kinds would play a predominant role in artistic creation, as well as in the diffusion of ideas and works. From the pamphlet to the multiple, publishing enabled the creators of works or actions that were often ephemeral and ill defined by art historians to leave their mark on art history.

Happenings, performances, concerts, films, installations, mailings, artists’ journals, and records would revolutionize the art system of the period.

Artists who wanted to eschew the art market and traditional structures began to organize their own events and to establish a communication network, as well as to find places in which to present their multiform projects.

It was within this new structure that the "artist’s book" was born and developed rapidly. The book was no longer a support for information, drawings, reproductions, or photos. The visual artist was no longer the illustrator of a book, he no longer shared it with its author, a poet or writer —he became the fully- fledged creator of the book. The book became a work of art in the same way as a sculpture, a painting, or an engraving.

Appearing as they did in the ideological context of the 1960s, artists’ books were the democratic artistic product par excellence. Thanks to the simple form and modest price of these publications, artists considered that they could not only conquer a market but, above all, give the widest audience possible the opportunity to encounter and become familiar with contemporary art. The comprehensive variety of "artists’ books" produced provides a reflection of all the artistic tendencies and styles developed since the end of the 1950s. And the vast abundance of contemporary creation is to be found in the immense library / museum created during this period. Some artists create their books and often publish them themselves; others even become publishers and bring out the works of their friends. Others still become booksellers and create places for the distribution of books. An international communication and exchange network is established in this way, by reason of this object, which can be easily circulated in the post.

The interior aspect as much as the conceptual content of the "artist’s book" are as numerous as the forms adopted by contemporary art. The book has served as physical support for the ideas of conceptual artists, as a visual space for the minimalists and for certain painters and sculptors, and as narrative space for others. But it has also been the place of predilection for visual poets and for all kinds of other manipulators of the page and of writing.

The "artist’s book" is barely distinguishable from other books. We are here far removed from the luxurious bibliophile object, because luxury is not its prerogative and its value resides in its content. The "artist’s book" is generally of average format, of traditional appearance, and the papers and printing techniques employed are often unexceptional. However, these works are undoubtedly a discovery for their readers. There is no longer a story to be recounted, but a work of art that develops in space and time.

While not conceived as a didactic object, the "artist’s book," in many cases, enables us to understand the artist’s oeuvre. In fact, as the contents of the book unfold, the reader can follow the logic of an artist’s work step by step. Concept takes priority over matter. Clear ideas are set out unequivocally and hardly have need of artifice.

"Artists’ books" are conceived in parallel within the totality of a visual artist’s oeuvre, creating a permanent dialogue between the book and other creative forms. We should consider them as spaces of exhibition, of reflection, which allow us a privileged perception of the process of creation.

The book has become an original work rather than an ephemeral exhibition object of which, in the majority of cases, only reproductions remain.

Guy Schraenen

Image: Libro con elementos pop-up Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol’s Index (Detail: Book with pop-up elements). New York York: Random House, 1976. © Bettina Brach.

Museo de Arte Abstracto Español
(Fundación Juan March)
Hanging Houses (Casas Colgadas) Cuenca
Visiting hours:
Monday: Closed.
Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday/Holidays: 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

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