Vija Celmins | The View

Vija Celmins

The View

New York City, USA: The Library Fellows of the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1985

[22] pp., 2.5 x 39 x 28.7 cm., hardcover

Edition of 120 signed copies

Poems by the Lithuania author Czeslaw Milosz illustrated with four mezzotints by Celmins. Bound by George Wieck in black morocco spine, in a matching slipcase. The unnumbered work is signed by both Milosz and Celmins.

The View is available here for $15,000 US. 

Robert Filliou | Poussière de Poussière

Robert Filliou

Poussière de Poussière 

Paris, France: Edition La Boutique Aberrante, Daniel Spoerri, 1977

6 x 16.8 x 12 cm.

Edition of 100

In the mid-seventies Michel Lacotte, curator and later director of the Louvre Museum of Arts, received an unusual request:

"Dear Friend,

As you might have heard, we are preparing a wonderful show by Daniel Spoerri, that will be called "The Sentimental Museum". Spoerri has been in contact with Henri de Cazals in order to get information on certain rare and curious objects which will appear in this show.

Concurrently, Spoerri hopes to create a "Boutique aberrante" that will sell examples of artistic fetish objects for the profit of international organizations. Numerous artists have shown an interest in bringing their wares to this show, among them Robert Filiou, one of the Fluxus group. He would like your permission to dust the frames of a number of famous paintings in the Museum. His intention is to sell, within the context of the "Boutique aberrante", the dust clothes [sic] accompanied by a photograph proving that they are in fact the dust cloths that cleaned "The Man with a Glove", "The Mona Lisa" etc.

I know that at first glance this request could seem rather bizarre, however, at the same time I know that I can count on your understanding.

I, am hoping you wilfbe able to accommodate Filliou, Spoerri, and myself. In awaiting your reply I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Pontus Hulten

Director

Centre Pompidou”

The resulting edition consists of a rubber-stamped cardboard box with a stapled photograph and a duster, each unique.  

There’s very little information about "Boutique Aberrante”, but the various boxes contain dust collected from works by Yves Klein, Marcel Duchamp, Magritte, Da Vinci and others. One sold at Christies auction in 2009 for 2,500 Euros, 500 more than its high estimate.

The work can be viewed as a companion piece to Flux Dust [see previous post]. 

Issue #23/24 of Impressions magazine (1980, edited by Isaac Applebaum and Lorne Fromer and designed by Suzy Lake) featured Filliou's 1977 work Poussière de Poussière as a four page spread. Excerpts are below.

"In this instance, the artist quest involved cleaning works of art within public collections in Paris and presenting the dusty cloths along with a small photograph of the action in archive style boxes, as if 'the aura of original work could be presented as a relic.' "

- Amy Fowler, Quests for the Lost and Found

Robert Filliou | Fluxdust

Robert Filliou

Fluxdust

New York City, USA: Fluxus, [circa] 1967

12 × 10 × 1.7 cm.

Edition size unknown

A plastic box with a label designed by George Maciunas [see above, bottom] containing collected dust. In 1984, the artist stated to Jon Hendricks that mentioned having a collection of hair and dust to Maciunas over a beer in London during the Festival of Misfits.  “By the time it was published, I had totally forgotten the idea.”

The works were later realized by Maciunas as a stand alone multiple for $3.00, and as part of the collective Fluxkit [see below]. 

A companion piece, Fluxhair, was produced at the same time with a near identical label. Despite Filliou's importance to Fluxus (and his interest in boxed editions), these two barely indistinguishable works appear to be the only multiples by him published by Fluxus. Some others reached the prototype stage - and there is a label design for something called The Obvious Deck - but none of them were produced or distributed via Fluxus. 

A later, better dust work (though without Maciunas’ design savvy) was published in 1977, under the title  Poussière de Poussière [see next post]. 

Tamara Shopsin & Jason Fulford | Offline Activities

Tamara Shopsin & Jason Fulford

Offline Activities

The Ice Plant, 2020

112 pp., 6.3 x 12.7 cm., softcover

Edition size unknown

In the spirit of Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit, Fluxus instructional scores, Hans Obrist’s Do It! and Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher's Learning to Love You More, this pocket-book contains fifty-two suggestions/assignments to help the reader unplug and disengage with the digital world. 

The perforated pages features simple, practical and sometimes romantic ways to pass the days: 

“Write down a list of things you don’t like, and bury it.” 

“Cut up a piece of junk mail and make a collage.” 

“Go to the library to solve a problem.” 

“Listen to an album all the way through without doing anything else.” 

“Look into someone else’s eyes for five minutes without talking.” 

Offline Activities is available for € 19,00 (including VAT), here. 

"Part novelty, part self-help guide, each page pairs the instruction with a related graphic and a literary quote selected from a book in Tamara and Jason’s personal library. Tear out one page a week for one year, and DESTROY THIS BOOK.”

- publisher’s statement

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