19 Mar

Posted at 19:55h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Warsaw: Galerie Foksal PSP, 1978
15 x 21cm, 16pp (self cover) exhibition catalogue but also artist's book displaying the 14 b/w large photographs of everyday objects which could have been from the artist's past such as a toy cowboy or a jigsaw.
An important exhibition which is on the cusp of Boltanski's change of direction - thereafter for a number of years much of his publicly shown artworks were posed photographs of model or meals or diaoramas. This show both relates to the earlier archiving of his past life (truthful or not) and the future deliberately forged pictures. VG+ although some rusting to the staples.
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01 Jan

Posted at 14:38h in DELUXE ARTIST’S BOOKS

Karlsruhe : Badischer Kunstverein, 1978
26 x 22 x 2cm, two part black conservation box content of a 24 x 19.5cm, 124pp plus boards and dust jacket. The deluxe version of the exhibition catalogue for a solo show of mostly photography. Texts in German by Andreas Franzke and Michael Schwartz. Later sections include re-printings of various of the artist's previous exhibition works and images from artist's books including Reconstitutions de Gestes Effectues par Christian Boltanski, L'album Photographes de la familie D., Les Habits de Francoise C., Les 62 Membres du Club Mickey en 1955,the Inventaire des objets appartenant a un jeune homme d'Oxford, Descriptions des 20 Regles et techniques utilisee en 1972 par un enfant de 9 ans, Les Images Modeles, Les compositions fleuries, and Les Compositions Photographiques and other images of the artist's "comic" performances of the 70s.
This deluxe copy of the book comes with two original editioned photographs by Boltanski - the first three original passport style b/w photographs of the artist taken on the dates - 5 September 1965 (the day before the artist's birthday), 27 November 1970 and 28 January 1978. The dates are written in the artist's hand on the gridded 24.5 x 20.5cm, 4pp card under the tipped on images.
Inside the card is a second photographic print - here in colour - of a set of children's plastic toys that resemble worker's tools. The card is signed and numbered on the back of the card as "VI" in pencil by Boltanski with a rubber stamp impression. The last page of the hardback catalogue is also signed and numbered "VI" in pencil by the artist. There were only 20 such deluxe copies issued during the exhibition. ALl are VG+ in like box. Reference: Flay Boltanski Catalogue Page 146.

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16 Sep

Posted at 19:27h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Vaduz: Roberto Altmann, 1977
28.3 x 20.9cm, 40pp and card covers. A single number (and the last in the series) of an artist’s periodical that was produced unusually in Liechtenstein, This themed number is a collection of postcards by Roberto Altmann, Christian Boltanski, H.P. Gassner, Paul-Armand Gette, Norbert Haas, Gilbert Lascaux, Annette Messager and Maria Nevelson which are bound in and serrated to allow removal and use if desired. Boltanski shows appropriated images of a goat, children playing, a girl posing, a yacht amongst other things. The images used here were also released as a stand alone artist’s portfolio also by Altmann also entitled Les Vacances but in a cardboard folder. Flay in her Catalogue of Boltanski books notes that but does not reference this periodical presumably not knowing of it. VG+. Very scarce publication.

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05 Jun

Posted at 09:27h in EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

Arnhem: Stichting Festival, 1977
23.5 x 17cm, 28pp plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue and programme for the annual festival which includes Annette Messager, Pieter Engels, Sigurdur Gudmundsson, Timm Ulrichs, Carolee Schneemann and others. Boltanski exhibited "Les 21 vetements de Francois C. en 1972" and there is one b/w image of part of that work. ...

31 Mar

Posted at 16:49h in Joseph Beuys Postcards

München, Schulmann & Kluger, 1977
10.7 x 21.2cm, 6pp asymmetric folded card with 10.5 x 13.8cm, b/w illustration of a lithograph "Letter from London" 1976 which the card is offering for 3,200 DM. VG+.

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25 Jun

Posted at 12:06h in EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

Bonn: Rheinisches Landesmuseum, 1976
20 x 20.5cm, 120pp plus original pictorial card covers. Exhibition catalogue for a joint show between the life long partners and artists. Boltanski's images are all found (appropriated) images while Messager reproduces found drawings and cartoons. Both artists are working here in the field of appropriation - the act of choosing a particular image is the artistic act and by recontextualising the image (by displaying it in, say, a museum) the picture is given a different meaning or interpretation or function.
Short essays in German by Lothar Romain and Klaus Honnef. VG+.

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06 Jun

Posted at 16:59h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Paris : Christian Bourgeois, 1976. 32.5 x 23cm, 40pp plus wrappers. The first number (3 = all) of this art journal which was edited by Boltanski on behalf of the publisher Roman Cieslewicz. The large format allowed single images as contributions from various artists including Roland Topor and occasional texts.
Boltanski's contribution as well as being editor is a full page image "Photographie de Christian Boltanski mort.". VG+.
There were two later numbers of Kamizake - one in 1991 and another in 1997, both without Boltanski's involvement (Agnes b having a major role in these later numbers.

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19 May

Posted at 13:49h in EPHEMERA

Paris: Musee Nationaal d'Art Moderne, 1976
10.6 x 21cm, 2pp b/w offset leaflet for a solo show of colour images by Boltanski. On the reverse there is an extract in the artist's holograph from a letter to Guy Jungblut which says:

"I make photographs, I am perfecting my technique and try to conform to rules of art which is difficult. I am making colour photographs of things that I am fond of, to show the beauty of simple things and a "joie de vivre". "

Boltanski's images were of food and family life and are very bold in technique. VG+. Scarce.

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25 Nov

Posted at 09:56h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Devon: Beau Geste Press, Nov. 1975. 30 x 21cm, 98pp. + pasted in booklet by Ben Vautier "Me Ben I Sign". 133 illustrations. Flip-flop perfect bound wrappers with pasted-on pictorial design (front and back - as is the pagination - creating the illusion of two back-to-back books). An especially noteworthy issue with pagework contributions by Filliou, Vautier (beyond the booklet), J.C. Lambert, Marcel Broodthaers, et. al. Issued in an edition of only 550 examples.
Christian Boltanski's contribution is a reprint of the pages from his second artist's second published book Description de Mon Accident from 1969.

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31 Oct

Posted at 19:57h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Bruxelles: Palais des Beaux Arts, 1975
21 x 29cm, 32pp plus card covers. First edition, with black tape spine, of this artist's book which displays the various comic performances by Boltanski where he pretended to be various parental and authority figures in a child's life and common scenes relating to those figures - additionally the artist had painted various backgrounds for each scene. Twenty-two b/w images reproduced in the book, two per page. The performances were Le baiser honteux, La premiere communion, La visite du docteur, L'anniversaire, La toilete du matin. Two b/w images of the artist on every page. The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition "12 x 1, Une certaine actualite de l'art contemporain en France," held at Europalia 75, France, October - November 1975. Slight damage to the black spine tape else VG+.

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04 Oct

Posted at 20:12h in ARTIST’S BOOKS

Copenhague: Bergs Verlag, 1975
17 x 11.2cm, 48pp plus blue wrappers. First edition of this artist's book that M. Berg (see previous letters) commissioned from his friend Boltanski. The many b/w images show in short sequences games and adventures that a young nine year old boy might undertake (climbing a tree, playing tops, spinning a knife, completing a jigsaw puzzle). As ever these are recreations of childhood memories with the boy in the images (whose face is never shown so standing for all young boys) clearly a model. This is one of 600 pencil numbered copies. text in Danish and French. VG+.

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27 Sep

Posted at 22:31h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
34.1 × 22.8cm, 4pp printed outer folder (black on cream) with the title text and inside a single sheet of green wove paper with the words ANTIQUE WOVE printed at the bottom.
This was one of the first of such works where the paper choice added within a folder is a comment on the subject matter. The choice of green antique wove paper is a reference to the verdant countryside of the Watteau painting, the fact it is a classical "antique" theme.
This innovation of creating a poem using the very materials employed in the printing is to the best of our knowledge a Finlay invention and, as we say, used in similar such works by the poet in later years.
Very slight grubbiness to outer folder else VG.

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