The Social Life Of the Book

Designed by Will Holder
English / French Editions
Edition of 1000
16 pages 16,1 × 22,6 cm
ISBN: 978-2-918252-41-2

“CRUMPLED, RUMPLED, CRAPPY, TACKY, RAUNCHY, UNCONSCIOUS, WHATEVER”, James Hoff, 2015

5 €

An artist, a musician, and a publisher based in Brooklyn, NY, James Hoff tells here how books got him into art. He considers the complex and stimulating fabric of anecdotes, gossip, secrets, that are shared around artists’ publications, and, further, the role of printed matter in the building of an artist’s community. The essay pays homage to Edit DeAk through its title, and also comprises some pictures of book covers and LP sleeves from Hoff’s collection.

This installment in the series The Social Life of the Book series was commissioned by Frieze Projects 2015, with additional support from Fluxus Art Projects.

“COMPOSITION AS PUBLICATION – AND – WHAT ARE MARGINS”, Matthew Stadler, 2015

5 €

An important inspiration for this The Social Life of the Book series, Matthew Stadler is relentlessly challenging preconceived ideas of publishing and the book, in his own writing, lectures and publishing activities. In this new essay, he’s examining the political dimensions of the book, through an unexpected, yet fertile, comparison between today and the invention of the space of the page in the Middle Ages. His praise for the dynamics of the “marginal” introduces a compelling discussion on authorship, the market, and the reader’s agency – putting the emphasis on the democratic openness of the book.

This installment in the series The Social Life of the Book series was commissioned by Frieze Projects 2015, with additional support from Fluxus Art Projects.

“THE LIBRARY OF HELEN CHADWICK”, Will Holder, 2015

5 €

The 6th installment of The Social Life of the Book series is a section of the catalogue of publications from English conceptual artist Helen Chadwick’s personal library, reproduced by Will Holder …for single mothers. The library was acquired in 2006 and is held by the Henry Moore Institute archive, Leeds, UK.

« LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE D’HELEN CHADWICK », Will Holder, 2015

5 €

Ce livret donne accès à une partie du catalogue de la bibliothèque personnelle de l’artiste Helen Chadwick, reproduit par Will Holder … aux mères célibataires. En 2006, dix ans après le décès prématuré de Chadwick, le Henry Moore Institute a fait l’acquisition de ses livres, et en a réalisé l’archivage. Cette liste d’essais, de revues, de catalogues, augmentée de remarques sur les traces de l’usage de ces publications, suggère une – ou plutôt, des – manière(s) de lire, de travailler, de penser, de vivre.

“DIE TOILETTE”, Jon Bywater, Louise Menzies and Marnie Slater (after Chris Kraus), 2013

5 €

We’re pleased and proud to announce that the fifth, long-awaited installment of our ongoing, history-making signature series, The Social Life of the Book, is now available. “Die Toilette” is an assemblage of text fragments taken from different books by LA-based writer Chris Kraus, conceived and annotated by artists and writers Jon Bywater, Louise Menzies and Marnie Slater. By reading through Kraus’s texts looking for traces of New Zealand, where she grew up, the three Kiwis question the representation of the distant; how it is embodied by characters, situations, language, and in the writing/reading dynamics Kraus creates. The beach, affection and loving relationships, the role of the city, intense relationships with wildlife – all this and more is at stake in this amazing montage.

« DIE TOILETTE », Jon Bywater, Louise Menzies et Marnie Slater (d’après Chris Kraus), 2013

5 €

Cinquième livret de la série The Social Life of the Book, « Die Toilette » est un texte construit “d’après” la lecture de Chris Kraus: soit un montage de fragments issus de différents romans de l’écrivaine américaine – tous inédits en français – conçu et annoté par trois artistes et auteurs néo-zélandais, Jon Bywater, Louise Menzies et Marnie Slater. Cherchant à cerner les rôles que joue la Nouvelle-Zélande dans les textes de Chris Kraus, ils mettent en lumière la manière dont la distance, le rapport entre un ici et un ailleurs, d’autres lieux, est au cœur du mouvement de l’écriture.

“KINESICS OF THE PAGE”, Avigail Moss, 2013

5 €

This installment written by LA-based artist and writer Avigail Moss, develops as a thorough analysis of one particular book: Marianne Wex’s outstanding photo-essay Let’s Take Back Our Space: “Female” and “Male” Body Language as a Result of Patriarchal Structures, from 1979. Moss proposes a contextual approach of the book, in relation to politics and feminism in post-war West Germany, as well as a minute study of its design and page structure, revealing the complexity and force of the volume.

« KINÉSIQUE DE LA PAGE », Avigail Moss, 2013

5 €

Avigail Moss, artiste et auteure vivant à Los Angeles, propose ici une tentative d’épuisement d’un livre, en analysant minutieusement, sur les plans historique, politique, artistique et conceptuel un ouvrage fascinant: Le langage « féminin » et « masculin » du corps: reflet de l’ordre patriarcal, extraordinaire essai photographique publié par l’artiste allemande Marianne Wex à la fin des années 1970.

“INFANT A”, Louis Lüthi, 2012

5 €

A short piece of fiction by the Amsterdam-based graphic designer and writer Louis Lüthi, “Infant A” follows famous book artist Ulises Carrión as he walks on the High Line in Chelsea, discussing two books simply titled A.

« L’ENFANÇON A », Louis Lüthi, 2012

5 €

Sous la forme d’une nouvelle, « L’Enfançon A » met en scène l’artiste Ulises Carrión – auteur du fameux Nouvel art de faire des livres, et qui créa dans les années 1970 la librairie Other Books & So à Amsterdam – discutant deux livres intitulés A, le temps d’une promenade sur la High Line, à Chelsea.

“THE WET AND THE DRY”, Moyra Davey, 2011

5 €

Moyra Davey’s practice of photography is closely connected to the history and the experience of reading. In “The Wet and the Dry”, autobiography and considerations on the medium mixes with the lives of Goethe, Mary Wollstonecraft and the Shelleys. This text was also the basis for Davey’s acclaimed video work The Goddesses.

« LE SEC ET LE MOITE », Moyra Davey, 2011

5 €

Le travail photographique de Moyra Davey s’appuie intensément sur la littérature et tout particulièrement sur l’expérience de la lecture. Dans « Le Sec et le Moite », le journal intime se mêle aux vies de Goethe, de Mary Wollstonecraft et des Shelleys, méditant sur les liens entre écriture, atmosphère et temps.

“MAKING BOOKS”, Oscar Tuazon, 2011

5 €

“I was raised making books” recalls US artist Oscar Tuazon at the beginning of this essay, that addresses the very oft-announced death of the book at the same time as it envisions the conditions of its rebirth. This unflinching reflection on how publishing has changed, also develops as a speculation on the artist’s own approach to sculpture.