Installation view at Printed Matter.
'Artists' Books, Revisited'
Printed Matter
195 10th Avenue, at West 22nd Street
Art in Review
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: December 23, 2005
'Artists' Books, Revisited'
Printed Matter
195 10th Avenue, at West 22nd Street
Through Jan. 4
For down-to-the-wire holiday gifts, check out the new and improved
Printed Matter, an outlet for decently priced artists' books and
objects that doubles as a gallery. Created and run by artists (A. A.
Bronson and Max Schumann are in charge at present), this nonprofit
space opened 30 years ago in a TriBeCa storefront, transferred to a
wide-open space in SoHo and then to a daylight-deprived tunnel in
Chelsea.
A few weeks ago it moved yet again, to elsewhere in
Chelsea. Big improvement. Although the new digs aren't much larger than
the previous ones, they feel roomier, thanks to a front window and
witty design reminiscent of "Star Trek" by the architect Mark Jan
Krayenhoff van de Leur. Best of all, the exhibition area really is
bigger, and there is a sharp inaugural show in place.
It was
organized by Matthias Herrmann, president of the venerable Secession in
Vienna. He commissioned about three dozen artists who had exhibited at
the Secession to create artist's books. Each book was to be based on an
existing one, namely a copy of the exhibition catalog that the
Secession had produced for the artist's solo show.
For some,
the process was fairly straightforward: Mr. Bronson gave the cover of
his catalog some swipes of white gesso; Monica Bonvicini soaked her
book in black paint. Others concentrated on interior interventions.
Doug Aitkin punctured pages; Sue Williams stuck them together with
chewing gum. Renée Green took the opportunity to add an index to her
book, while Koo Jeong-a deleted the logos of corporate sponsors.
Some catalogs were expanded (Charline von Heyl asked another artist,
Josh Smith, to add pages of collages and drawings). Some were thinned
(Hans Schabus glued and pressed the pages of his book together until it
was wafer-thin). At least one was destroyed (Terence Koh burned his
book to ashes).
The overriding idea was to take the book as a
familiar, functional unit and make it something else - a visual object,
a tactile object, a useless object, an accident, a problem, a secret, a
mess - and to do so in inexpensive, hands-on ways. Exactly the same
idea applies to Printed Matter itself. And while the commissioned
objects aren't for sale, much else here is, from books to buttons to
hand-painted skateboards. Everything is artist-made or conceived;
profits go to artists and exhibitions. So any buy is a smart one, and
the show is a gift of the season. HOLLAND COTTER
from their site:
Extended Holiday Hours at Printed Matter, Inc!
Special Holiday Hours at Printed Matter!
Friday, December 16 , 12 - 7
Saturday December 17, 11-7
Sunday, December 18, - Wednesday, December 21, (including Monday) 12-6
Thursday, December 22, 12-7
Friday, December 23, 12-7
Printed Matter will be closed from Saturday, December 24 - Monday, January 2
We will re-open on Tuesday, January 3 at 12 PM
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