Christian Marclay
Telephones
London, UK: Ivorypress, 2024
148 pp., 5 3/4 x 4 1/8 x 3/4”, hardcover
Edition size unknown
Released earlier this summer, this new artists’ book is an adaptation of Marclay’s 1995 film of the same name. Telephone served as a transitionary work for the artist, who had previously produced mostly sound art works, particularly using the format of the vinyl record.
After Telephones, Marclay produced the excellent Up and Out in 1998, the breakthrough Video Quartet [below] in 2002, and the 2010 masterpiece The Clock.
The editing approach in those films began here, creating a dialogue (literally, in this case) between random films. Telephones was edited on two VCRs, from VHS tapes from a local video rental store. The seven and a half-minute montage features an assortment of characters using a variety of phones (all pre-dating smart phones) to create a continuous conversation.
The spiral bound book version allows readers to mix and match images, creating their own juxtapositions.
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