OTTO EGBERTS, Verspreide Koppen, 1988
21 x 15 cm
photo copy printing, 38 pp., HC, dustcover
edition 60, here nr 61/60
signed, numbered, dated
published by Stichting Archipel, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
€ 60,- excl. registered mail
Dutch artist Otto Egberts started his career in the 1980’s. His subject is the individual that stands alone in an enstranged sub-realism expressed through painting, drawing and installations. In 2012 he started an in Dutch written blog criticizing various elites in society and predicting the downfall of the Occident.
In “Verspreide Koppen” each page on the right depicts a head dramatically tormented by strange objects and geometrical forms.
GERHARD RICHTER, November, 2013
31,5 x 21,8 cm
offset
edition 800
signed, numbered
published by Heni Publishing, London, England
pristine
sold out
Richter produced NOVEMBER, a series of 54 works in ink. These works were created using a variety of ways to manipulate the consistency of ink and its flow on highly absorbent paper. The ink permeated through the sheets creating two related images, one on the front and one on the back of each of the 27 sheets used. In some cases Richter also applied lacquer or pencil.
Richter had a complete set of facsimiles made, so both sides of the 27 sheets could be viewed at the same time. However, the sequence of mirrored pairs of images is disrupted, as some of the images have been rotated by 180 degrees. The book displays the images of the pairs, one on the front and one on the back of each page and ends with an overview of all 54 works.
In the artist’s book November Richter not only made use of sheets with a mirror image of the motif on the reverse; in some cases the ink that had soaked through layers of sheets created what looked like visual echoes. His manipulation of the given sequence was distinctly restrained: for instance, November 2nd (recto) is placed upside down, disturbing the regularity of the mirror-image idea. In addition to this, the obscuring over-painting of this same sheet and of November 3rd draws attention to the differences between the two, rather than to any repetition. In the case of the pairs of sheets dated November 4th and 5th, the verso images are again rotated by 180º; it also appears that the sequence of front and back has been reversed in the case of the latter. The given reflections are thus just the point of departure for an interlocking web of playfulness, which in turn creates simultaneity from a temporal and material sequence. In the same way that original and facsimile per sheet and page are barely distinguishable, any distinctive qualities in the different ink markings are all but impossible to discern – with the initial disposition on one side and copy, duplicate and replica on the other. It has become a work in itself.
History of prices:
Antiquariat an der Uni Muenchen, Munich, Germany € 1.500,- January 2021
The Archive is Limited, Amsterdam € 950,- December 2020
Tate Museum, London, England € 470,- / GBP 400.- April 2013
New Art Editions € 800,- March 2017
ED RUSCHA, Make New History, 2009
6,5 x 19,5 x 13 cm
linen bound note book, text in stamp printing on book block, 624 blank pages signed in print on endpaper of book
original cardboard box, incl.loose paper with colophon and statement of the artist, dated: ‘Ed Ruscha November 10, 2009’
edition 1000
published by MOCA, Los Angeles, USA
mint extremely rare in this mint condition
€ 3.450,- plus € 38,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles this edition of 1000 copies was produced for distribution to members and attendees of its anniversary gala and not sold to the public. The pages of the book are blank, Edward Ruscha’s intention being for the owner to write his or her own history on the pages.
Due to its weight and thickness this artist’s book may also be considered as a real object or conceptual sculpture.
History of prices:
EHC Fine Art, USA US$ 4,500.- April 2023
1st Dibs, New York, USA € 4.736,- 24 September 2022
Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Australia US$ 1.513 – € 1.561,- &#nb; 24 September 2022
Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Australia AU$ 2.250 – € 1.468,- &#nb; 25 February 2021
LA Modern Auctions, Los Angeles, USA US$ 2,000.- &#nb; 18 October 2020
EHC Auctions + Artsy, Lot 5, highest bid US$ 1,900.- estimate US$ 2.500-US$ 3.000 &#nb; 31 March 2020
The Archive is Limited, Amsterdam € 1.950,- &#nb; 28 March 2020
Rago Arts & Auction Center, Lambertville, NJ, USA & nbsp; – Lot 733, $ 1,063 &#nb; 16 November 2013
PETER DOWNSBROUGH, For Rent, 1990
21 x 14,5 cm
booklet with fold out, 8 pp., stapled
edition 525, here stamp numbered 61
pristine
published by Guy Schraenen, Antwerp, Belgium
INTENTIONAL STANCE, 2012, artists book
35 x 27,5 cm
with loose inserted A3 posters, folded as issued + brochure, certificate
signed, numbered
edition 70
published by De Ateliers, Amsterdam
inv. EBell 373
Participating artists: Eric Bell & Kristoffer Frick, Fritz Bornstück, Mitchel Breed, François Lancien Guilberteau, Fiona Mackay, Saskia Noor van Imhoff, Emma van der Put, Laurens Stok and Amanda Wasilewski
MIKE MILLS, The Fabric of Events, 2013
20,9 x 13,3 cm
pocketbook, unpaginated, ill., cardboard box
issue 18
published by The Thing Quarterly, San Francisco, USA
mint
inv.MMil 000-pr
The Thing Quarterly is ‘a magazine in the form of an object’, sometimes being a book. The artist’s book The Fabric of Events of Mike Mills is a compilation of factual stories on social and political issues published in newspapers and other media. Ultra short stories about a catched wild bear in the 19th century, Sammy Davis Jr. staying in the White House, an Iraqi shoe thrown at U.S. President George W. Bush, etc. The idea of reconstructing historical moments by describing an event creates the fabric of events.
inv.MMil 343
W wh at*, OOC&C, 2016
each 25,2 x 16,6 cm / 24 pp.
set 13 booklets, digital prints
edition unknown
published by W wh at*, Brussels, Belgium
Benefactors may donate € 75,- or more a year and they wil get a free set.
Het Belgische instituut W wh at* in Brussel – voorheen De Kunstbank in Leuven – staat onder leiding van Herman Labro. Met zijn wisselende teamgenoten bedenkt hij kortlopende projecten voor niet-ingewijden, voornamelijk schoolkinderen en kansarmen. Daarvoor schakelt hij zowel jonge als gevestigde kunstenaars in, zoals Sunday B Morning, Vaast Colson, Voebe de Gruyter en Fred Berrevoets. Hij maakt voor zijn sociaal-maatschappelijk getinte acties gebruik van voorwerpen uit zijn kunst- en designcollectie, die hij in de loop der jaren ‘als te gebruiken materiaal’ heeft opgebouwd. Ook verleend hij opdrachten met een participerende grondslag aan kunstenaars als Jaap Kroneman en Klaas Kloosterboer.
Voor de actie van ‘OOC&C’ 1) heeft Herman Labro teamleden en enkele mensen uit de buurt gevraagd kledingstukken uit zijn modecollectie te kiezen. Naar eigen inzicht, maar wel gesouffleerd, werd een verkleedactie fotografisch vastgelegd. De collectie kleding bestaat o.a. uit ontwerpen van Raf Simons, Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck.
1) Volgens de uitgever is de titel geen afkorting of een verwijzing naar iets.
De laatste pagina van elk boekje is in gevarieerde vorm steeds de omslagfoto van het volgende boekje. Zo vinden 17 kantelingen plaats.
De instelling maakt bij al haar eclectische acties en projecten gebruik van bestaande kunst, modeontwerpen, design objecten en performances van bekende kunstenaars zoals Marina Abramovic. Hiermee positioneert W wh at* zich als een opmerkelijk instituut dat hedendaagse kunst en design kopieert en in samenwerkingsverbanden verandert tot uiterlijke varianten van de oorspronkelijke artefacten en performances van beeldend kunstenaars en ontwerpers uit het gevestigde circuit.
In 2015 heeft W wh at* op instigatie van Herman Labro een opmerkelijke zet gedaan door als instituut een zeer actieve fanclub op te richten voor de Belgische kunstenaar Vaast Colson, namelijk de Voorforvaast-fanclub.
DIETER ROTH, Der Tränensee [The Lake of Tears], 1973
47,5 x 33 x 5,5 cm
artist’s book, letterpress newspaper printing
edition 150
signed, dated, numbered
published by the artist
good condition, although with discoloured cover due to aging
€ 2.200,-
Roth published regularly aphorisms in the Anzeiger Stadt Luzern und Umgebung placed among the paper’s usual advertisements. After a series of lines like ‘Ein Flugzeug its ein bözes Wort’ / “An airplane it is an evil word” , ‘Ausgeweint ist ausgeschlafen’ / “Finished crying is finished sleeping” and ‘Es wird einmal gewesen sein’ / “Once it will be has been”. The newspaper cancelled Roth’s campaign after too many readers complained about the incomprehensible messages that obviously didn’t advertise anything at all. In 1973 Dieter Roth published all his 248 aphorisms in ‘Das Tränenmeer’ (The Sea of Tears).
This artist’s book is also in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam: Dieter Roth Collection Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Aphorism: ‘Die Beweinen, die wollen beweint werden D.R.’
SIGURDUR GUDMUNDSSON, three books, 1993-2010
Tabúlarasa [Tabula Rasa], 1993
20 x 12,5 cm
signed
Ósýnilega konan [The Invisible Woman], 2000
21,5 x 14,2 cm
(not signed)
Dýrin í Saigon [The Animals in Saigon], 2010
20 x 12 cm
signed
Icelandic language
published by Mal go Mánning, Reykjavik, Iceland
Next to being a visual artist Sigurdur Gudmundsson writes novels since 1993. Insiders in Iceland call the content of his books innovative and a remarkable addition to the Icelandic literature.
In 2016 his fourth book will be published, at a certain point also in English his new publisher Crymogea states.
GERHARD RICHTER, Eis, 2016
19,5 x 11,5 cm
artist’s book, offset, 144 pp., ca 320 grams
46 by hand tipped-in black and white images
limited edition 350
published by Salon Verlag, Cologne, Germany mint
inv. GRich 309
€ 385,- plus € 18,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
This book is a facsimile of Gerhard Richter’s original design for ‘Eis’, an artist’s book first published by Galeria Pieroni in 1981. The brown yellowish glue stains shining through the pages of that dummy are reproduced here, as an extra factual layer. The 46 pictures – glued in the middle of the book – are reproductions of photos Richter took in Greenland.
The most interesting contribution Gerhard Richter has managed to deliver in the comtemporary visual arts is the uninterpreted image, i.e. an image without interpretation, morality or emotion. A picture made with the objectifying camera leads to a matter of pictorial fact. Since we are used to read images within a fraction of a second Richter manipulates his images by blurring them, and so creating a cooler distance from the viewer looking at an image. Due to this added misty curtain it is more difficult to detect what is going on. Also it blocks a first fast reading. What Emmanuel Kant analysed for the theory of knowledge is what Gerhard Richter analysed for the pictorial phenomenology, i.e. knowledge a priori (knowledge one is born with) or a posteriori (knowledge achieved by experience) is comparable to Richter’s observation that a photo is empty (no thoughts, no ideology, no theme, no order) or loaded (with ethics, aesthetics, etc.).
Since Gerhard Richter is convinced that the objectivity of the (snapshot) photo has to be helped by providing it with manipulations of distance, he states that painting a photo is the best way to bring its emptiness of no position to perfection.
Reading ‘Eis’ against the background of the above one may say that Richter’s idea to make this artist’s book with no beginning and no ending is expressing his will to neutralise a fixed direction of reading (in fact, there are no texts to read). Black and white images are glued in and some are shown upside down towards each other, depending from where you start reading the book. After some confusion one may accept its awkwardness of how to read on and a kind of reader’s ‘floating’ is created. This awareness of being in a cloud is the detached situation Richter is looking for. In German one would say: “Richter’s richtige Richtung” leading to a void in which there is no urge anymore to judge. The reader finds himself in a pictoriality of no beginning and no ending.
The tipped-in images in the middle seen from the book edge:
History of prices:
eBay-carolinanitsch, New York, USA US$ 1,500.- September 2023
Studio Bibliografico Marini, Valenzano, Italy € 439,- September 2023
Galerie Buchholz, Cologne, Germany € 680,- September 2023
eBay-carolinanitsch, New York, USA US$ 900.- December 2022
Galerie Buchholz, Cologne, Germany US$ 351.- December 2022
eBay Kleinanzeigen-Christian, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sankt-Augustin, Germany € 550,-
July 2022
Studio Bibliografica Marini, Rome, Italy € 350,- July 2022
eBay-carolinanitsch, New York, USA US$ 900.- December 2021
Antiquariat Querido-Frank Hermann, Düsseldorf, Germany US$ 255.- December 2021
Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne, Germany € 240,- July 2021
Antiquariat Querido-Frank Hermann, Düsseldorf, Germany € 220,- April 2020
