Joseph Kosuth: Art as Idea as Idea, 1967-1968 (1973)

Exhibition catalogue.

Publisher Paul Maenz, Brussels, March 1973
[12] pages
via The DOR (at Archive.org)

PDF (16 MB)

Bernd & Hilla Becher: Gas Tanks (1993)

“Typological, repetitive, at times oddly humorous, Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial structures are, in their cumulative effect, profoundly moving. The Bechers’ serenely cool, disarmingly objective, and notoriously obsessive images of water towers, gas tanks, grain elevators, blast furnaces, and mineheads have been taken over several decades, under overcast skies, with a view camera that captures each detail and tonality of wood, concrete, brick and steel.

In this work, the Bechers’ present four principally different forms of gas holders or gas tanks in 140 photographs taken during the years 1963-1992 in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, and the United States. The subjects are photographed under overcast skies that eliminate expressive variations in lighting; the Bechers make no attempt to analyze or explain them. Captions contain only the barest of information: time and place. On the subject of gas holders, the Bechers limit their remarks to a minimal functional description, leaving the aesthetic dimension of their subject to the photographs themselves: much of the fascination of these photographs lies in the fact that these unadorned metallic structures, presumably built with little concern for their visual impact, are almost invariably striking in appearance.”

First published as Gasbehälter, Schirmer/Mosel, Munich, 1993.

Publisher MIT Press, 1993
ISBN 026202361X, 9780262023610
110 pages with 102 duotone plates

WorldCat

PDF (26 MB)

Sophie Calle: Ma’s-tu vue / Did You See Me? (2003)

“The work of conceptual artist Sophie Calle embraces photography, storytelling, film, memoir as well as other media. Often controversial, Calle’s projects explore issues of voyeurism, intimacy, and identity as she secretly investigates, reconstructs and documents the lives of strangers–whether she’s inviting them to sleep in her bed, trailing them through a hotel, or following them through the city. Taking on multiple roles–detective, documentarian, behavioural scientist and diarist–Sophie Calle turns the interplay between life and art on its head.

The book presents Calle’s best-known works, including The Blind, No Sex Last Night, The Hotel, The Address Book and A Woman Vanishes, as well as lesser known and earlier projects that have largely escaped the public eye. This compendium of Calle’s photographs, diary excerpts and video stills also includes three critical essays and two interviews with the artist.”

First published in French by Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2003.

English edition
Publisher Prestel, 2003; Second edition, 2008
ISBN 3791330357, 9783791330358
443 pages
via Chloe

Review: Pescador (The Art Book Review, 2012).

Publisher
WorldCat

PDF, PDF (76 MB)