Sentences on Conceptual Reading
1. Conceptual readers are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.2. Rational judgements repeat rational judgements.
3. Irrational judgements lead to new experience.
4. Formal reading is essentially rational.
5. Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically.
6. If the reader changes his/her mind midway through the execution of the piece he/she compromises the result and repeats past results.
7. The reader's will is secondary to the process he/she initiates from idea to completion. His/Her wilfulness may only be ego.
8. When words such as decoding and comprehension are used, they connote a whole tradition and imply a consequent acceptance of this tradition, thus placing limitations on the reader who would be reluctant to make reading that goes beyond the limitations.
9. The concept and idea are different. The former implies a general direction while the latter is the component. Ideas implement the concept.
10. Ideas can be works of reading; they are in a chain of development that may eventually find some form. All ideas need not be made physical.
11. Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions, but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one is formed.
12. For each work of reading that becomes physical there are many variations that do not.
13. A work of reading may be understood as a conductor from the reader's mind to the writer's. But it may never reach the writer, or it may never leave the reader's mind.
14. The words of one reader to another may induce an idea chain, if they share the same concept.
15. Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the reader may use any form, from an expression of words (read or heard) to physical reality, equally.
16. If images are used, and they proceed from ideas about literature, then they are literature and (not) art; numbers are (not) mathematics.
17. All ideas are reading if they are concerned with reading and fall within the conventions of reading.
18. One usually understands the reading of the past by applying the convention of the present, thus misunderstanding the reading of the past.
19. The conventions of reading are altered by works of reading.
20. Successful reading changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.
21. Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
22. The reader cannot imagine his/her reading, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.
23. The reader may misperceive (understand it differently from the reader) a work of reading but still be set off in his/her own chain of thought by that misconstrual.
24. Perception is subjective.
25. The reader may not necessarily understand his/her own reading. His/Her perception is neither better nor worse than that of others.
26. A reader may perceive the reading of others better than his/her own.
27. The concept of a work of reading may involve the matter of the piece or the process in which it is made.
28. Once the idea of the piece is established in the reader's mind and the final form is decided, the process is carried out blindly. There are many side effects that the reader cannot imagine. These may be used as ideas for new works.
29. The process is mechanical and should not be tampered with. It should run its course.
30. There are many elements involved in a work of reading. The most important are the most obvious.
31. If a reader uses the same form in a group of works, and changes the material, one would assume the reader's concept involved the material.
32. Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.
33. It is difficult to bungle a good idea.
34. When a reader learns his/her craft too well he/she makes slick reading.
35. These sentences comment on reading, but are (not) reading.
Michalis Pichler
L'attitude humaine de vie est comme notre langage, ne dépendant que d'une matrice sans épaisseur, comme l'alphabet. Peut-être ne vivons-nous qu'en 26 ans, 26 lettres, 26 chapitres, peut-être que les limites de notre monde, à chaque instant, débutent par A et se finissent par Z, ou bien, plutôt, débutent par A et se terminent par A, puis débutent par B et se terminent par B, etc.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Notre relation aux livres n'est pas ce processus continu et homogène dont certains critiques nous donnent l'illusion, ni le lieu d'une connaissance transparente de nous-même, mais un espace obscur hanté de bribes de souvenirs et dont la valeur, y compris créatrice, tient aux fantômes imprécis qui y circulent.
Pierre Bayard, Comment parler des livres que l'on a pas lu, Les Editions de Minuit, 2007, p.18
Pierre Bayard, Comment parler des livres que l'on a pas lu, Les Editions de Minuit, 2007, p.18
Artist's books
The topic of artists’ books and artists’ publications can be controversial. If one were to ask a room filled with artists, collectors, scholars, critics, and members of the public to define the term "artist’s book" the conversation would quickly turn into a debate. Many think of artists’ publications in the context of early 20th century European "livres de luxe" – those finely produced, limited edition, precious volumes of Picasso, Matisse, and other decidedly European modern masters. Others might describe artists’ books as unique or limited edition craft-objects that formally resemble books, but that are actually closer to sculpture. Still others would place artists’ books at the intersection of fine arts and literature – in either limited or short-run editions – and would cite the collaborations between Max Ernst and Paul Eluard as exemplary. Finally, some might consider monographs or exhibition catalogues as artists’ books or artists’ publications.
Printed Matter’s founders subscribed to the idea of the artist''s book as "artwork for the page," focusing particularly on those publications produced in editions of one hundred or more. They envisioned these publications as democratizing artworks – inexpensive artworks – that could be consumed alongside the more traditional output of paintings, drawings, sculptures or photography. These books were not simply catalogues of pre-existing artworks, but rather works in their own right, "narratives" intended to be seen in a printed, bound, and widely disseminated format.
Books that appeared in Printed Matter’s first catalogue in 1976 included volumes by Kathy Acker, Laurie Anderson, Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Daniel Buren, Susan Hiller, Sol LeWitt, Adrian Piper, Ad Reinhardt, Martha Rosler, Edward Ruscha, and Lawrence Weiner. Most of these artists saw their publications as being "alternative spaces" for the display of their artworks in much the same way that they saw physical "alternative gallery" spaces as being allied homes for their unique artistic output.
One strategy that Printed Matter’s founders – and LeWitt in particular – used to promote artists’ books was to produce them in lieu of exhibition catalogues. These books created literally thousands of venues for art work as they made their way onto coffee tables, collectors’ bookshelves, and into museum libraries and students’ backpacks. They were meant to be kept, discarded or casually circulated among friends like pulp paperbacks. These early publications had in common not only the large scale of their editions, but also their low price tag — most of the books carried by Printed Matter in 1976 sold for less than $5. Financial accessibility has remained an important characteristic of the books Printed Matter carries; today the median price for an artist’s publication is $20.
Over the course of the last thirty years artists have expanded the terrain of the artist’s book to include ancillary forms such as vinyl records, audio tapes, video tapes, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, and various hybrids. Printed Matter carries an extensive range of these new media publications, which are selected and sold on the same basis as traditional artists’ books. Printed Matter’s inventory spans generations of artists working in the field, and seeks to represent a community that is as diverse as possible in its range of expression.
http://www.printedmatter.org/about/books.cfm
Printed Matter’s founders subscribed to the idea of the artist''s book as "artwork for the page," focusing particularly on those publications produced in editions of one hundred or more. They envisioned these publications as democratizing artworks – inexpensive artworks – that could be consumed alongside the more traditional output of paintings, drawings, sculptures or photography. These books were not simply catalogues of pre-existing artworks, but rather works in their own right, "narratives" intended to be seen in a printed, bound, and widely disseminated format.
Books that appeared in Printed Matter’s first catalogue in 1976 included volumes by Kathy Acker, Laurie Anderson, Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Daniel Buren, Susan Hiller, Sol LeWitt, Adrian Piper, Ad Reinhardt, Martha Rosler, Edward Ruscha, and Lawrence Weiner. Most of these artists saw their publications as being "alternative spaces" for the display of their artworks in much the same way that they saw physical "alternative gallery" spaces as being allied homes for their unique artistic output.
One strategy that Printed Matter’s founders – and LeWitt in particular – used to promote artists’ books was to produce them in lieu of exhibition catalogues. These books created literally thousands of venues for art work as they made their way onto coffee tables, collectors’ bookshelves, and into museum libraries and students’ backpacks. They were meant to be kept, discarded or casually circulated among friends like pulp paperbacks. These early publications had in common not only the large scale of their editions, but also their low price tag — most of the books carried by Printed Matter in 1976 sold for less than $5. Financial accessibility has remained an important characteristic of the books Printed Matter carries; today the median price for an artist’s publication is $20.
Over the course of the last thirty years artists have expanded the terrain of the artist’s book to include ancillary forms such as vinyl records, audio tapes, video tapes, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, and various hybrids. Printed Matter carries an extensive range of these new media publications, which are selected and sold on the same basis as traditional artists’ books. Printed Matter’s inventory spans generations of artists working in the field, and seeks to represent a community that is as diverse as possible in its range of expression.
http://www.printedmatter.org/about/books.cfm
Livres d’artistes
Les publications qu’il est désormais accepté de nommer «livres d’artistes» apparaissent au tout début des années 1960 à la fois aux Etats-Unis et en Europe, et prospèrent dans les années 1970, en lien avec les mouvements artistiques de ces années-là : art conceptuel, pop art, fluxus, poésie concrète, poésie visuelle, et dans les conditions sociales et politiques du moment.
«On pourrait, en premier lieu – écrit Tim Guest – décrire les livres d’artistes comme des livres produits par des artistes, des livres différents de toutes les publications artistiques en ce qu’ils ne sont pas astreints aux conventions de la littérature, de la critique ou de l’illustration. Le principe fondamental des livres d’artistes c’est qu’au lieu d’être à propos de ‘art, ils sont plutôt eux-mêmes des œuvres d’art.»
On peut souligner que ces publications sont en rupture, tant par les moyens de leur production que de leur diffusion, avec celles de la bibliophilie que sont les livres de peintres et livres illustrés. Ces dernières nous étant plus familières, sans doute parce qu’inscrites depuis plus longtemps dans nos habitudes de regard. Abandonnant les techniques artisanales d’impression : gravure, lithographie, les artistes vont s’emparer de techniques nouvelles : le stencil ou polycopie, l’offset, la sérigraphie ou la photocopie, – et de nos jours l’ordinateur personnel. Herman de vries, dans les années soixante à recours à la technique du stencil pour produire livres et revues.
A la fin des années 1970, Bernard Villers se fait sérigraphe pour produire ses livres, et plus près de nous, Eric watier dit qu’il travaille avec le photocopieur.
Autant d’outils domestiques qui permettent aux artistes d’œuvrer de manière autonome, de gérer entièrement leurs projets. L’autogestion et la lutte contre la division du travail sont dans ces années-là – et pas seulement en art – à l’ordre du jour.
En même temps les artistes s’affranchissent des réseaux de production et de distribution de l’art en devenant leurs propres éditeurs : Ian Hamilton Finlay fonde la «Wild Hawthorn Press» en Ecosse, herman de vries «the eschenau summer press and temporary travelling press publications» en Allemagne, Dick Higgins «Something Else Press» à New York, ou en créant des lieux de diffusion : Printed Matter par Sol LeWitt à New York, Art Metropole par General Idea à Toronto, Boekie Woekie par Jan Voss et Other Books and So par Ulises Carrion à Amsterdam, Workfortheeyetodo par Simon Cutts à Londres ou encore Ecart par John Armleder à Genève.
«It was a good way to decentralize the art system» [C’était un bon moyen pour désaxer le système marchand de l’art] écrit Ida Applebroog à propos de ses publications. Dans un entretien que nous avons publié en 2005, herman de vries, artiste néerlandais vivant en allemagne et dont le premier livre auto-édité «wit is overdaad» paraît en 1960 nous révèle : «je ne connaissais pas le livre d’artiste, ni d’éditeur de ce genre d’ouvrage. finalement puisque j’aime faire les choses moi-même, j’ai entrepris seul la publication, le plus simplement possible ; telle est ma façon de faire. il n’y avait presque pas d’argent. je ne roulais pas sur l’or et devais me limiter au travail le plus rudimentaire. mais à vrai dire il ne m’en fallait pas plus. c’était quelque chose de nouveau pour moi.»
Une des particularités du «monde» du livre d’artiste est qu’il n’a jamais été et n’est pas (encore) affaire de spécialistes. Sans hiérarchie dans les attitudes, les artistes qui œuvrent dans ce domaine sont souvent eux-mêmes éditeurs, commissaires d’expositions, auteurs de textes critiques (des plus pertinents), collectionneurs, libraires. Cette approche de l’art – et de la vie – est une source de fluidité qui a permis, et autorise encore, bien des complicités. Au moyen de la forme livre, œuvres et idées ont circulé et circulent encore.
http://cdla.info/fr/centre/livres-dartistes
The uselessness of everything
Illustration detail from Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson, 1948
Sigmar Polke - Daphne
"Created directly by Polke himself, Daphne is a book with 23 chapters illustrated in large-format photocopies. Each "copy" of the book differs, as each has been photocopied and manipulated individually, pulled from the machine by the hand and watchful eye of the artist"
Sigmar Polke - Daphne, Snoeck Publishers, Ghent, 2004
stars
The Stars - A New Way To See Them by H.A.Rey, Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, 1952
How Far is Far - Alvin Tresselt and Ward Brackett, 1964
The Wonderful World of Science
Going To the MOON - Mae & Ira FREEMAN
A Moon or a Button- A Collection of First Picture Ideas by Ruth Krauss and Remy Charlip, 1959
Le Petit Prince (Canadian Educational Edition) , Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Bellhaven House Ltd., 1969 (1966)
Daniel Eatock - Photocopied Dictionary
I photocopied every page of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary onto A4 sheets of paper to produce a stack of more than fifteen hundred pages. This project was inspired by the fact that books are often photocopied for reference. The dictionary is the archetypal reference book. Photocopying it resulted in a handmade duplicate that has more value than the original due to the time and expense invested in making it. The height of the stack makes the volume of information contained in a dictionary—normally disguised by the thin weight of its paper—more tangible and gives it more weight physically and conceptually.
http://eatock.com/projects/photocopied-dictionary/
Fra Angelico - San Marco - La Madone des ombres
(in Georges Didi-Huberman, Fra Angelico - Dissemblance et figuration, Flammarion 1995)
Zbyněk Baladrán, Constructivist Model Tower, 2006 (video, 4’17)
Zbynek Baladran documents in this video, the creation of a model tower, freely inspired by Tatlin’s Monument to the Third International. Piling up old books of various topics he is noting the height of each book on its spine according to a 1:50 ratio. The original concept of the Constructivist tower as a Utopian model has been oriented towards the future. Baladrán’s tower puts together fragments of the past (books), producing a form in which the past future meets the present past. www.zbynekbaladran.com
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