Christoph Niemann | I LEGO® New York

Christoph Niemann 

I LEGO® New York

Munich, Germany, Knesebeck,  2010

[32] pp., 17 x 13.8 x 2.4 cm., boards

Edition size unknown

Christoph Niemann is an illustrator whose work has appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Wired, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, and American Illustration. He is the author of two dozen books, many for children. 

This board book from 2010 features minimal lego sculptures of New York City. Manhattan [above] is my favourite, represented with only two grey pieces and a four x two green piece for Central Park. So much more succinct than the seventeen thousand piece version below. 

We bought this title for our friend Annie, who shares our love of books and lego. 

“During the cold and dark Berlin winter days, I spend a lot of time with my boys in their room. And as I look at the toys scattered on the floor, my mind inevitably wanders back to New York.”

- Christoph Niemann

 

Concrete Poetry: an International Anthology

Stephen Bann [editor]

Concrete Poetry: an International Anthology

London, UK: London Magazine Editions, 1967

197 pp., 19 x 19 cm., hardcover

Edition size unknown

In 1966, Stephen Bann guest edited an issue of the Beloit Poetry Journal dedicated to the then burgeoning Concrete Poetry movement, predating many of the important anthologies that would follow shortly thereafter. 

A year later he edited volume 13 of London Magazine Editions, with a similar focus on the scene. Concrete Poetry: an International Anthology includes work by Claus Bremer, Eugen Gomringer, Hansjorg Mayer, Ernst Jandl, Decio Pignatari, Haraldo de Campos, Augusto de Campos, Pedro Xisto, Mathias Goeritz, Pierre Garnier, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dom Sylvester Houedard, John Furnival, Edwin Morgan, Emmett Williams, Jonathan Williams, Robert Lax and others. The title includes an extensive twenty-page introductory essay by Stephen Bann and short biographies for each of the contributors.

For a genre assumed to be admired more than enjoyed, it’s rare to find a copy of this book that doesn’t appear well-loved. This copy is available for $200 US, here. 

"London Magazine Editions published the London Magazine, where I published my first article. I think it was probably Reg Gadney who introduced me to the magazine. It was being run, I don’t know whether at a loss, but certainly Alan Ross had a wife, Jennifer, who was really rather wealthy, so I don’t think it was necessary for him to make a great profit. He’d also started this collection of books, London

Magazine Editions, and he gave me the go ahead to do this Concrete poetry anthology and put me in touch with a designer called Ron Costley (alas he died just a few weeks ago), who became a very close collaborator for [Ian Hamilton] Finlay over many years. But this was his first attempt to design a Concrete poetry book and Alan Ross went off to cover a cricketing tour in Australia, because he was also, among his many talents, a cricket correspondent, and so he more or less left us a free hand and I think, in fact I know, that we spent more on the publication than he had bargained for. When he came back he thought we had probably bankrupted the London Magazine Editions, but in effect that was not the case, it actually sold out really quite quickly and at a later stage, I think 10 years later the TLS did a survey which said that it was the most widely held poetry anthology in the British public libraries which they’d actually surveyed. This was partly because it got a very good review from one of the leading critics at the time, Cyril Connolly in the Sunday Times. I think it was a close connection with Alan Ross

there, so we were again very lucky. So Finlay effectively said, “Will you do this?” and from time to time I got names from him and so on and I had some of the names already myself. For example, I came across a letter the other day from Hansjörg [Mayer] because I’d got in touch with him about Claus Bremer in Germany and he gave me the address. So effectively I got the names together and went ahead. We made a decision, for example, that we would have just one colour printing which would be a sort of bright orangey yellow and this would work notably for a famous poem by Garnier which was to be printed in colour, and for one of my poems and also for a poem by Dom Sylvester which was produced in a definitive version. It was something that I was doing at the same time as completing my PhD. The book was actually published a few months afterwards, in autumn 1967, but I’d done all this preliminary work in the previous year, with a lot of advice from Finlay, but certainly he never would say, “You must publish this or that”. I had a free choice and he generally agreed with the poems that I featured in it.

- Stephen Bann

Kristjan Gudmundsson | The Longest Night in Venice

Kristjan Gudmundsson

The Longest Night in Venice

[Iceland]: self-published, 1982

[10] pp.,  24.7 x 19 cm., staple-bound

Edition size unknown

An enigmatic artist’s book published in conjunction with Gudmundsson’s participation in the Venice Biennale 1982, representing Iceland. The booklet presents consecutive black ink lines drawn on white blotting paper over the course of one minute. 

Adelaide Cioni | Catalogue of Things I’ve Touched

Adelaide Cioni

Catalogue of Things I’ve Touched

Roma, Italy: Edizioni MAXXI, 2025

320 pp., 10.5 x 17 cm., softcover

Edition of 300 numbered copies

Released in December of last year, this bilingual artist book (English and Italian) was produced in an edition of three-hundred numbered copies, thirty-five of which contain an ‘original feature’ by the artist.

"Catalogue of Things I’ve Touched is an artist’s book conceived and created by Adelaide Cioni, inviting the reader to enter into her creative process. Entirely made of scans, the book offers a unique perspective on the artist’s relationship with fabric: notes, sketches, drawings and personal annotations, combined with scraps of fabric and canvas, come to life on the page, giving rise to ever-changing shapes and combinations. A short introductory text explains the structure of the editorial project and, page after page, the artist’s visual world takes shape: ‘shades and textures of wool, sketches painted on fabric, maquettes, unused costume pieces (…), the designs and sketches that lie behind it all.’”

- publisher’s blurb

Martin Creed | Work No. 2609

Martin Creed

Work No. 2609

London, UK: Tate, 2015,

21 x 15.3 x 21.5 cm.

Edition of 50

Every two years, an artist represented in the Tate collection is invited to become the Tate Members "commissioned artist", as a way of recognizing and celebrating the support Tate Members provide to the four Tate galleries. Martin Creed accepted the Tate Members commission for 2015-17. To coincide with this, the artist produced this limited edition piece. Each work is created using twenty-eight chosen acrylic colours, hand thrown on Perspex. 

Work No. 2609 is produced in an edition of 50, each of which is unique.

“The main problem is that life is difficult, I’m just trying to make my life better. In the case of colours, it makes me happy to look at these colours. Anything you can do to make your life better is really worth trying to do.”

- Martin Creed

Mark Gonzales | High Tech Poetry

Mark Gonzales

High Tech Poetry

Columbus, USA: Contingency Publishing, 2002

100 pp., 5 x 6”, softcover

Edition size unknown

High Tech Poetry brings together the artist and skateboarder's art and poetry, with black-and-white drawings covering pages that open along perforations to reveal poetry and sketches. Irreverent poems address everything from capitalism to the plight of man, while cartoonish sketches set the visual tone for the volume. The 2002 book accompanies Gonzales's first public reading of his work at the Wexner Center for the Arts.

"1968 was a turbulent year in America - assassinations, race riots, Vietnam - it seemed as if the world was on the edge of extinction. Amid all the chaos, somewhere in the vast concrete wonderland of Los Angeles, a child was born. The middle child between an older Michael and younger Angie, Mark Andrew Gonzales was here.

Driven by his brother, Mark's neighbourhood reputation quickly grew. Tackle football on concrete, bikes, whatever —little Mark was crazy enough to do just about anything. Somewhere amongst all this, skateboarding popped up. He quickly consumed everything he could have this new "hobby." Unable to afford skate magazines, he studied the images in the ones at the local library. The photos in Skateboarder at the time showed pools and parks. Being that he lacked funds for skateparks, he passed the time mimicking the vert skating he saw in the magazines out on the streets by his house. Thus, Mark's brand of "street" skating was born. Strictly out of necessity and curiosity, a new way of looking at skateboarding's urban playground had arrived.

Mark was never much for school. He quickly made his focus skateboarding and the streets, envisioning, finding, and eventually making up the things that are now standard procedure. Somewhere along the line Mark became a legend. At 17 "The Gonz" was rolling. When the limelight got too much for him, he split to NYC to become a poet, artist, writer, and actor. All of the shit Mark attempted he did just like he skated —his way. He got back into skateboarding in 1992 after realizing that although the other shit was great, only skating could make him complete.

Functionally retarded is how I describe him. He can't order a pizza, but he'll tell you all about Napoleon or some other freak. Funny guy, he once tipped his tax auditor. And he's the biggest spender I've ever met. Money means nothing to him (especially mine). Where is he going with all of this? Who knows. But guaranteed we will all try to bite it when he gets there.” 

- Jake Phelps

Christo | Wrapped Book

 

Christo

Wrapped Book 

New York City, USA: Abrams Original Editions, 1973 

30.5 x 28.6 x 3.5 cm.

Edition of 100 [+10 AP] signed and numbered copies

Handmade by the artist, this edition consists of a book Christo wrapped in canvas with twine. It was released in an edition of 100 signed and numbered copies, as well as ten artist proofs with roman numerals I to X. 

According the Edition Schellmann catalogue raisonne, the work was created to help fund the publication of the book Christo by David Bourdon, published by Harry N. Abrams, New York.

Not to be confused with Wrapped Book Modern Art, from 1978, which was also created to fund a publication with Abrams books [see earlier post, here].