Berlin: n.p., 1970.
10.3 x 15cm, 2pp commercial postcard with an image of the Berlin Kongresshalle and on the reverse greetings and best wishes from both Boltanski and his partner Annette Messager. VG+.
Nice: Ben Doute de Tout, 1970
10.5 x 15cm, 1pp typographic announcement card which is also a conceptual work in itself. A series of adjectives are posed as questions about Boltanski and the exhibition. Words such as "Maniac?", "Pretentious?", "Sadistic?", "New?" in advance of the exhibition references doubt about whether the artist is pretending to be something/someone else and if his work is genuine? Ben's gallery was called in translation "Ben doubts everything" - and this rather matches that distrust of art and the world. Very scarce early card. VG+.
Paris: Grand Salon de L'Hotel Moderne Palace, 1971
10.5 x 14.8cm, 1pp typographic announcement card for a joint show with Jean Le Gac. The two artists had met early on in Boltanski's career and the latter gives Le Gac credit for influencing his work and showing him "the ropes" of the Parisian artwork. They did many early joint shows and projects together where they contributed to collective artist's books often along with Annette Messager (who soon became Boltanski's life long lover and sometimes collaborator). This seems to have been the artist's fourth or fifth show although a definitive list of exhibitions is not available anywhere.
This is a rare document in VG+ condition.
Venice: Galerie De La Salle, n.d. (1971)
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp b/w postcard issued as an edition during the group show "Les Paravents" held in Venice. On the front is the well known work where the artist shows two photographs of himself side by side with a gap of 5 years and three months between them. He looks older of course, time is disappearing as is his life. VG+. Scarce.
Fontainebleau: Musee Municipal Du Costume Militaire, 1972
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp typographic announcement card for a joint show with Jean Le Gac.
On the reverse is an important joint text by the artists which stresses the reasons why they were exhibiting in such a historic museum:
Our work is an attempt to find in the present the means to transmit and preserve the experience that we have of artistic activity: an intellectual journey, marked out by relics (photos, objects, fragments of texts ...) that we strive to save from indifference and everyday wear and tear. It is natural that we think of presenting this type of activity in museums which aim to go back in time by classifying both documents and their history.
It also seems to us that elements of our work could be examined in a way that would allow it to be compared with other recording of human activity, and therefore, it was interesting to seek such a confrontation in established museums that are tasked of keeping the memory of things and the found motivations that caused their development.
Finally, by using this framework for our work, we undoubtedly save the effort on our death: it is fascinating to place our current activity in a museographic perspective, since in the last resort it is that which is left to be seen. (Our poor translation)
Le Gac and Boltanski (and Annette Messager) often exhibited together and to the best of our knowledge this is the first joint statement of their joint intent. The importance of archiving the past is stressed here much as it is in Boltanski's earlier statement " ON NE REMARQUERA…"1969 (FROM RESEARCH ET PRESENTATION DE TOUT CE QUI RESTE DE MON ENFANCE).
Front is very slightly grubby else VG+ - a very rare and important card.
Paris: Galerie Sonnabend, n.d. (1973)
11.5 x 16.5cm, 1pp typographic announcement card for Boltanski's first solo show in America, only months before he has his first show outside of France in Oxford in the UK. A mailed copy with handwritten address (not by Boltanski). VG+ although slight marks from the franking process. Scarce.
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Paris: Galerie Sonnabend, 1974
10.5 x 15cm, 1pp typographic announcement card for Boltanski's twenty-first first solo show and the third at Sonnabend. The work displayed were photographs of the artist pretending to be a nine year old boy and reliving (supposed) memories from his past. This is a mailed copy to M. Berg sent to the latter from Boltanski with handwritten address.
The artist's book of the same title had recently been published by Berg Verlag in Copenhagen - which was M. Berg's own imprint and a book he had commissioned from Boltanski. VG+.
Munster: Westfälischer Kunstverein, 1974
15 x 10.5cm, 1pp typographic announcement card for a major museum show of posters, photographs and other works. This was one of the artist's earliest museum shows (although compared with other artists Boltanki was pretty successful in this regard with an exhibition in the ARC in Paris in 1970 which was his 5th ever solo show!). The card mentions more recent work bhy the artist where he plays a "clown".
The card is signed by Boltanski (to M. Berg) in black ink.
JOINT:
Hand addressed (by Boltanski) envelope to M. Berg with franked printed stamping.
Rome: Cannaviello Studio d'arte, 1974
29.2 x 10.2cm, 1pp typographic announcement card for a group show in Italy with contributions by David Askevold, John Baldessari, Robert Cumming, Jochen Gerz, Peter Hutchison, Jean Le Gac, William Wegman and others to which Boltanski contributed. by 1974 Boltanski was regularly invited to major group shows and many of those being international events - this was only 9 years after his very first public outing.
There are some marks on the front of this card and it is a hand addressed mailed example with stamp and frank. Else VG.
Dusseldorf: Stadtische Kunsthalle, 1975
21 x 15cm, 1pp announcement leaflet for a performance by Boltanski with "his talking doll" - one of the first of such performative works by the artist where a besuited and be-hatted artist discussed "childhood memories" in a faux ventriloquist act. Interestingly young people under 10 are specifically invited to attend. On the back Boltanski has signed the leaflet to Berg thanking him for is support. VG+. although formerly folded.
JOINT WITH:
Hand addressed envelope from Boltanski to M. Berg sent from Germany.
