Projekt Migration: Ausstellungsführer
Published by Kölnischer Kunstverein, Köln, 2005, 300 pages (b/w ill.), 11 × 18 cm, German
Price: €3

Three years in the making, ‘Projekt Migration’ was a large-scale exhibition held in various traditional and nontraditional sites around the city of Cologne, with the Kölnischer Kunstverein serving as the primary host venue. Organized by a team including Kathrin Rhomberg, director of the Kölnischer Kunstverein, and Zurich-based curator and filmmaker Marion von Osten, ‘Projekt Migration’ investigated the history of postwar migration to western Europe in relation to current debates that place immigrants at the center of political contestation. Part socio-historical anthology and part contemporary art exhibition, the project was one element of an — initiative by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation) that also included screenings, a symposium, performances, workshops, discussions, music.

Featuring artists such as; Vlassis Caniaris, Gustav Deutsch, Lukas Duwenhögger, Gülsün Karamustafa, Christian Philipp Müller, Henrik Olesen, Mladen Stilinović, Rosemarie Trockel.

#2005 #christianphilippmuller #gulsunkaramustafa #gustavdeutsch #kolnischerkunstverein #lukasduwenhogger #mladenstilinovic #rosemarietrockel
SECESSION
Christopher Williams
Published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, 2005/06, 96 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 21 × 29.5 cm, English / German
Price: €45 (Out of stock)

Christopher Williams precise photographs retain in a paradoxical way what is in the process of vanishing. His photographs, influenced by the advertising aesthetics of the 1960s or 70s tend to become as anachronistic as their motifs. Published as the second volume of the De Rijke / De Rooij catalogue on the occasion of their exhibition at the Vienna Secession, the two volumes are, however, independently conceptualized artist`s books.

#2005 #2006 #christopherwilliams #secession #verlagderbuchhandlungwaltherkonig
A Few Drawings
Guy de Cointet
Published by Cneai, Paris, 2005 (reprint from 1975), 60 pages, 19 × 25 cm, English
Price: €33 (Out of stock)

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.

#1975 #2005 #guydecointet