Paris: Centre d'histoire de l'art contemporain, 1991
23 x 16.3cm, 188pp plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue for an exhibition of works from the period 1968 - 1972 which was given as a class project to a number of curatorial students. The book has essays about and images from Boltanski, Bernard Borgeaud, Andre Cadere, Paul-Armand Gette, Jean Le Gac, Annette Message, Gina Pane, and Sarkis. Some wear around the spine but else VG. Scarce.
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Moscow: Maison Centrale de L'Artiste, 1989
11 x 15.5cm, printed envelope in red and black on cream content of four different postcards with images of the exhibition and two 21 x 15cm, 2pp leaflets with texts in French and a reproduction of two press articles in Russian.
The exhibition catalogue in unusual format for a group show of French artists which included Boltanski, Daniel Buren, Sophie Calle, Robert Filliou,, Paul-Armand Gette, Jean le Gac, Annette Messager, Philippe Parreno, and Sarkis amongst others. The images on the cards do not seem to include any obvious Boltanski work. All VG+ in slightly word and minorly torn envelope.
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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.
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Edinburgh: Richard Demarco Gallery, 1973
30 x 21cm exhibition catalogue consisting of outer 4pp folded cover and 5 sheets of insets. Boltanki had intended to create a transparent front step for the Demarco gallery thus freezing the ground underneath in a state of unchanging stasis for at least ten years however the, then, parochial right wing local authority refused him permission and the correspondence between artist, gallery and council and a reproduced photograph of the prototype step in situ are reproduced herein. Very rare and unknown early exhibition catalogue and work (or rather non-work).
When we gave Boltanski a copy of this catalogue in 2018 he had forgotten about the installation and had no idea that Demarco had published this catalogue (and without Boltanski's permission - although the artist did not seem to mind). VG+.
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DIjon: Musee Rude, 1973
30 x 21cm, 76pp plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue that should be regarded as a joint artist's book - with original contributions by Boltanski, Le Gac and Annette Messager.
Boltanski's part is "5 BROUILLONS DE CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI MARS - MAI 1973" - five hand-written texts in facsimile of the artist's handwriting which discuss various projects undertaken in the past year.
Le Gac has "L'ENQUETE" - a quasi thriller short story with one b/w image. Messager has "SUR LES TRAVAUX DE L'ATELIER" - again texts in reproduction of her originals although typed. `
VG+ condition. Scarce.
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Luzern: Kunstmuseum Luzern, 1972 30 x21cm, unpaginated (c. 300pp) plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue which covers four solo shows including Boltanski alongside Ben, Le Gac and Fernie. Each artist has a section for their own works - Boltanski's reprints Reconstitution de Gestes Effectues par Christian Boltanski and Album de Photo de la Famille D. 19390 - 1965 consisting of 138 found photographs which Boltanski organised into a family album. Texts in French. Mild colouration of white card covers else VG+. Scarce. ...
Berlin: AQ Verlag, n.d (1972)
20 x 20.7cm, unpaginated (c. 112pp) plus pictorial wrappers. A single number of this photographic and art journal - here Boltanski has two original contributions - 10 SCENES DE LA VIE ENFANTINE DE CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI INTERPRETEE LE 12 JUIN 1971 PAR FRANCOISE GUINIOU ET LET PETITS JEAN ET MARTINE and ESSAI DE RECONSTITUTION DES 46 JOURS QUE PRECEDERENT LA MORT DE FRANCOISE GUINIOU (EXTRAITS). Neither to our knowledge is reproduced elsewhere. The former being six b/w images of children acting out scenes from Boltanski's supposed memories. The second the same photographs and more displayed as contact prints from a film role. One is expected (one presumes) to see the latter as the documentation of the previous project and that Francoise Guiniou somehow died soon after the photoshoot.
There are other original pageworks by Paul-Armand Gette, Jean Le Gac, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Jochen Gerz and Anthony McCall.
Not in any catalogue raisonne.
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Malmo: New Eter, 1971
29 x 23cm, printed envelope content of five internal loose sheets -- each 27 x 21.5. 1pp. The Boltanski contribution is a printed offset image of the adult artist bending over showing here his bed was situated in his room for the first nine years of this life.
Other sheets have original contributions by Paul-Armand Gette (Photograph of a tree stump and its exact location), le Gac - a written text, and Ben Vautier - an original found photograph of women practicing fencing which is stamped Ben Vautier certifies this to be a work of Flux Art (each copy had a different photograph). The final sheet is a colophon with a business card stapled to the card sheet and nothing else.
All fine although there is a slight mark from the staple on the colophon on Boltanski's contribution - all in VG+ envelope. A scarce item. Reference: Flay Boltanski Catalogue Page 54.
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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.
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Paris: Chorus, 1970
24 X 18cm, 80pp plus pictorial covers. A single number of the art journal which alongside Boltanski are original contributions and articles on Arman, Jean Le Gac, Henri Calet and others.
Notable here are four pages by Boltanski - a b/w photograph of the artist lying on the ground of a back garden as if he has died. The same photograph is shown four times but each time showing more and more of the body in close up.
Thematically this touches on the same interest in accidents and death that the artist had explored in some of his earliest works (which described false accounts of a fatal accident). VG+. Scarce publication.
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Paris: s.p. (Paul-Armand Gette) 1970 10.5 x 13.5cm, 1pp b/w photographic image (taken by Gette) of a bag or some paper blowing past trees and part of the stonework in the Parc Buttes-Chaumont. This was from the second Promenade which took place around May 1970 when Gette joined Christian Boltanski and Jean Le Gac for a dérive (which had previously been used as means to creativity by both the surrealists and the situationists). During the walk, Boltanski placed some balls of dried earth in an alleyway, PA Gette hung some crystals and Le Gac documented part of the journey by taking photographs. On the back of the card there is a message hand-written by Turid (wife of Paul-Armand Gette)in black ink to Paule Léon Bisson-Millet. VG+. Very rare. ...
Paris: American Center for Students and Artists, October 1969
18 x 28cm, 42pp (mostly printed one side only) plus rubber stamped card covers. Slide binder. The first edition of an assemblage group artist's book with original contributions by Boltanski, Paul-Armand Gette, Jean Le Gac (here Le Gag!), Gine Pane, Ben Vautier, Andre Cadere, Alain Kirili, and Eric Dietman as well as others.
Boltanski's work is a photograph and text showing a supposed 13 of 1,000 roses planted at the American centre on 9th of October 1969 by Boltanski, the other 987, it is claimed, will be planted in Dijon on 20th of November 1969. These claims are probably spurious.
The other contributions are significant and some copies were signed and numbered by Dietman but this is not one of them.
This example is in very good condition and the book is very rare. It is not mentioned to our knowledge in any Boltanski catalogue raisonne.
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