Bas Jan Ader | Fall

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Bas Jan Ader

Fall

Los Angeles, USA: Self-published, 1970

[48] pp., 19 x 19 cm., softcover

Edition size unknown

An artist book with no text, Fall contains two photographic sequences, composed of 11 images each, from the artist's films Fall 1, Los Angeles, and Fall 2, Amsterdam. The former begins with Ader seated in a straight-backed chair on the roof of his house (the same site for a later work depicting his wardrobe) until he loses his balance, rolls down its slope and lands on the ground. The latter features the artist in one of his most arresting and recognizable actions:  a view from across a canal, of Ader on a bicycle riding down the street and then suddenly veering into the water with a large splash. Both films end abruptly at the moment of contact.