Contributions by Paul Chan, Keren Cytter, Nicolás Gaugnini, Irena Haiduk, Madeline Hollander, Sarah Kürten, Jordan Lord with Carissa Rodriguez, Luzie Meyer, John Miller, Rachel Rose, Karin Schneider, Cally Spooner, Studio for Propositional Cinema, Lawrence Weiner, Christopher Williams

A compendium of essays, scripts, poems, and proposals by various artists, in relation to a Spectator: was compiled by Studio for Propositional Cinema for their eponymous exhibition at the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover. In the opening text, Studio for Propositional Cinema—an artist collective founded in Düsseldorf in 2013—sets the context for the book’s investigations into notions of the script, staging, and the conditions of the exhibition itself. Other contributions include Keren Cytter’s rules and declarations for engaging life; Irena Haiduk and John Miller’s ruminations on the nature of the image and of the cinematic, respectively; a series of missives to Kevin Spacey from Cally Spooner; and an “open letter” by Christopher Williams detailing the labor and material conditions that have furnished the walls on which his exhibitions have hung.

This book is part of an ensemble of structures related to the nature of presentation in the Kestner Gesellschaft exhibition. Visually connected in their ultra-gloss white surfaces, they are meant to be seen as intertwined sites for the display of objects, the reproduction of images, the staging of performances, and the transmission language through talks and conversations. Design by Ronnie Fueglister.

An exchange of letters; two mother tongues; two ways to tell a story. What happened during the week-long meetings in 1972 organized by the MLF (Mouvement de libération des femmes) and Psychoanalyse et Politique (which formed in 1968 in Paris), which were attended by some of the women who went on to found The Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective. These encounters gave rise to a series of practices that continue to distinguish the Italian movement. The publication Two Voices offers an opening into this story.

Published on the occasion of two exhibitions, one at Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne and the other at Greene Naftali in New York, that presented a group of works by artist, filmmaker and musician Tony Conrad entitled “Yellow Movies”. Alongside an introductory note by Tony Conrad that served as a press release for the two gallery exhibitions, the book contains a new text by Diedrich Diederichsen and a comprehensive documentation of all the “Yellow Movies” still in existence. The catalogue is produced in collaboration with Galerie Daniel Buchholz and Greene Naftali.

“Yellow Movies,” is the title of a series of works in which Conrad explored the intersection of film and painting. He conceived of these works not as paintings but as films of incredibly long duration, devoid of the action or narrative typically associated with Hollywood cinema. When the works were first debuted in 1973, Conrad referred to their installation as a “screening.” To make this work, and others like it, he painted a rectangle of cheap house paint on paper and framed it with a black border. Over time the central painted rectangle will slowly yellow, much in the same way film emulsion does. This yellowing happens with or without exposure to light; it is always “screening,” as the passage of time itself actively marks its surface.

Design by Yvonne Quirmbach.

Guy de Cointet (American, b. France, 1934–1983) was fascinated with language, which he explored primarily through performance and drawing. His practice involved collecting random phrases, words, and even single letters from popular culture and literary sources—he often cited Raymond Roussel’s novel “Impressions of Africa” as influential—and working these elements into non-linear narratives, which were presented as plays to his audience.

Paintings and works on paper would then figure prominently within these performances. In his play “At Sunrise A Cry Was Heard” (1976), a large painting depicting letters bisected by a white sash served as a main subject and prop, with the lead actress continuously referring to it and reading its jumble of letters as if it were an ordinary script. His drawings likewise are almost readable but just beyond comprehension.

Edited by Hugues Decointet, François Piron, Marilou Thiébault. Designed by Laure Giletti & Gregory Dapra.

Facsimile reissue of the original graphic poetry book self-published in 1975 by Guy de Cointet.

Guy de Cointet (American, b. France. 1934–1983) was fascinated with language, which he explored primarily through performance and drawing. His practice involved collecting random phrases, words, and even single letters from popular culture and literary sources—he often cited Raymond Roussel’s novel “Impressions of Africa” as influential—and working these elements into non-linear narratives, which were presented as plays to his audience.

Paintings and works on paper would then figure prominently within these performances. In his play “At Sunrise … A Cry Was Heard” (1976), a large painting depicting letters bisected by a white sash served as a main subject and prop, with the lead actress continuously referring to it and reading its jumble of letters as if it were an ordinary script. His drawings likewise are almost readable but just beyond comprehension.

De Cointet is recognized as one of the major figures in the Conceptual art movement that emerged in Los Angeles in the 1970s, having strongly influenced a number of prominent artists working in southern California today, including Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley, for whom both drawing and performance figure significantly in their artistic practices.

The CCA Wattis Institute in San Francisco dedicates year long seasons of discussions and public events to a single artist. In 2014–15, Joan Jonas was “on our mind.” This book brings together essays from writers, curators, art historians and artists that focus on a single work, from Jonas’ earliest films through her installation for the US Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. The book also contains excerpts from readings and public lectures, and images by some of the other artists whose work was evoked in public and private conversation. Contributors include Jacqueline Francis, Renée Green, Quinn Latimer, Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Patricia Maloney, Elizabeth Mangini, Judith Rodenbeck and Lynne Tillman.