Hamlet, mise-en-scène
Extra Trouble—Jack Smith in Frankfurt
Published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2015, 288 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 21.6 × 27.9 cm, English
Price: €20

This publication brings together extensive material from Hamlet, mise-en-scène presented at Portikus, along with recently restored as well as never-published stills, drawings, and writings by American filmmaker and artist Jack Smith, related to his film Hamlet in the Rented World (A Fragment) (1970–73).

Hamlet, mise-en-scène, directed by Mark von Schlegell, was an adaptation that retold Shakespeare’s most abused tragedy while channeling the ghost of Jack Smith. The two-night rendition of Hamlet was performed by members of Städelschule’s Pure Fiction seminar, presented here alongside a rare selection of works by Smith, both from private collections and from the Jack Smith Archive.

Texts By Sylvère Lotringer, Birte Löschenkohl, Sophie von Olfers, Laura Preston, Juliane Rebentisch, Mark von Schlegell.

#2015 #jacksmith #julianerebentisch #markvonschlegell #portikus #sternbergpress #sylverelotringer
Elegia
Giulio Paolini
Published by Slg. Gerd de Vries, Köln, 1980, card (colour ill.), 10.6 × 14.7 cm, German
Price: €12

*Please note this publication is secondhand and has some traces of previous ownership.

#1980 #ephemera #giuliopaolini
Giuseppe Penone
Published by Galerie Helen van der Meij, Amsterdam, 1980, card (b/w ill.), 10.6 × 14.7 cm, Dutch
Price: €12

Card produced on the occasion of Giuseppe Penone’s exhibition at Galerie Helen van der Meij, Amsterdam, 2 May–3 June, 1980.

*Please note this publication is secondhand and has some traces of previous ownership.

#1980 #ephemera #giuseppepenone
Breath Holding Spell
Nairy Baghramian
Published by Revolver Publishing, Berlin, 2021, 16 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 30.4 × 30.4 cm, English
Price: €30

On the levels of both form and content, Breath Holding Spell unmistakably harks back to Bruce Nauman’s 1970 artist’s book LA AIR, whose eight monochrome pages present photographs of the atmosphere, illustrating the widely varying hues of the air over L.A.

It inspired this artist’s book by Nairy Baghramian, which features variations on a single photographic motif: no more than a cropped detail of a tightly packed standing crowd of people is visible in Tight Sluice. Monochrome pages that reprise the colors of their attire appear in rhythmical alternation with the pictures.

The artist has autographed the books on the back cover, again quoting Nauman, though his signature was a printed facsimile.

#2021 #brucenauman #nairybaghramian #revolverpublishing #secession
323
B. Ingrid Olson
Published by Revolver Publishing, Berlin, 2022, 328 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 16 × 16 cm, English
Price: €27

This book features 323 photographic images by B. Ingrid Olson, all taken in 2021. Near sunset, the artist often constructs provisional sculptural arrangements of raw materials, found objects, remnants of her other works, and studio detritus. Carefully stacked or precariously balanced, each temporary assemblage is documented in the evening, when the cast light creates long shadows, accentuating the shapes and textures at hand. The formations are adjusted across multiple images, creating varied sets of near repetitions that evidence Olson’s quick decisions, minor adjustments and the movement of light and shadow at the end of each day.

#2022 #bingridolson #photography #revolverpublishing
Parables of Friendship
David Medalla
Published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, 2022, 300 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 21.6 × 33 cm, English / Italian / German
Price: €30

Produced on the occasion of the exhibition David Medalla: Parables of Friendship at Bonner Kunstverein, 18 September 2021–30 January 2022 & Museion, Bolzano, 9 April–14 September 2022. Curated by Fatima Hellberg and Steven Cairns. Exhibition design and architecture Michael Kleine.

The publication brings together previous unpublished writings of Medalla, interviews with the artists, alongside contributions by writers and academics including the Purissima Benitez-Johannot, Eva Bentheva, Gavin Jantjets, David Morris, Rasheed Araeen, amongst others along with visual material from the Medalla archives, the archive of art historian Guy Brett and David Medalla.

#2022 #bonnerkunstverein #davidmedalla #fatimahellberg #michaelkleine #rasheedaraeen #stevencairns