What is an Art Book? Volume 3

What is an Art Book?
Volume 3
1

2

“What is an Art Book?”
2000 A4
sheets of
paper 43 art
practitioners
3 days 2
nights 2
desks 2 pens
8 chairs
new york
city gallery
aircon
3

4Contents

4.................................................. Contents
6.................................................. Preface/Foreword
10................................................. Introduction
16................................................. Adam Payne
18................................................. Aaron Miller
28................................................. Alexis de Chaunac
34................................................. Amy Fung
38................................................. Anthony Miler
54................................................. Ben Stubbington
64................................................. Bobby Stackleather
70................................................. Bruce High Quality Foundation
76................................................. Catherine Taylor
78................................................. Charlie Nesi
84................................................. Colin Kilian
88................................................. Cynthia Lin
98................................................. Diana Schmertz
104................................................ Eli Rosenbloom
114................................................ Emily Knecht
116................................................ Emma Wasielke
128................................................ David Pappeceno
130................................................ Gwen Hardie
146................................................ Jacquelyn Ross
152................................................ Jason Alexander Byers
170................................................ Jomar Statkun
178................................................ Michael Gittes
180................................................ Julien Levy
198................................................ Kirsten McCrea
204................................................ Kristina Lee
210................................................ Kumasi Barnett
224................................................ Kyle Kouri
230................................................ Lindsay Keys
232................................................ Martyn Gallina-Jones
234................................................ Matthew Stock
238................................................ Russell Perky
248................................................ Sarah Faux
250................................................ Samuel Stabler
266................................................ Sam Fryer
284................................................ Serena Qiu
288................................................ Sharon Butler
302................................................ Simon Burstall
322................................................ Tina Hage & Keh Ng
334................................................ Tiziana La Melia
342................................................ Tyler Healy
364................................................ William Buchina
380................................................ Zefrey Throwell
392................................................ Omar Zeinc
394................................................ Zeph Colombatto
404................................................ Epilogue
5

6Preface/Foreword

Conceived initially as a part of the London based collaborative event by the Mews
Project Space ‘Artists books Weekend’ “What is an Art Book?” is an investigation in to
the politics of artists books, its mode of production and its recent resurgence in the
art world.
For this, our third volume, The Modern Language Experiment is very excited to be
collaborating with two New York spaces. Garis & Hahn and Young & Starving.
An Art Book today can be seen to occupy various different positions including that
of a piece of theory, a catalogue, a printed exhibition, a piece of art in itself,
a supplement to a pre-existing piece. It can be a proposal for the future or an
examination of the present or what has passed. “What is an Art Book?” will be an
investigation of what an Art Book is in terms of material, conceptual, industrial and
political concerns. Over 50 artists, writers, curators, and other practitioners are
invited to respond to the title of the project by contributing their interpretation of
what an Art book means to them and their practice.
Each contributor can propose text, drawings, photographs, sculpture, performance, audio
recordings, video or any other concept/theory as long as it can ultimately be realised
in A4 paper format and in black and white.
The contributors will produce their artworks over the three days at Garis & Hahn, which
will serve both as an exhibition space and a production house where we will create the
actual artists book.
7

8

9

Introduction
10

“What is an Art Book?” is a question that is defined by the density and the
variety of the responses it evokes. This is a complex question with many
possible responses, which will become evident as you travel through the
content produced by the 51 contributors. In these 380 pages you will find
work by artists, writers gallery directors, magazine publishers, curators and
scriptwriters. Their individual languages collide bringing written language,
drawing, video, performance, graphic design, painting, sculpture, photography,
found material as well as hybrids of all of the above.
This book was made as the Modern Language Experiment’s response to the
Whitechapel Art Gallery’s Art Book Fair, at Garis and Hahn over the course
of a weekend. Much of the content was produced on site in the gallery space
surrounded by a constant stream of other contributors and audience members;
but many more were made in isolation within the artists own studio and brought
to the gallery. Through exposure, collaboration, isolation and constraints we
hope that we can create an alternative model for art book production and in
doing so question the books role and impact on today’s society.
With this book we have instigated a conversation that we will continue to
develop, a question which will be asked again and again for it is a good
question. As the masochists in us all yearn for the definitive in what cannot
be cornered.
Long live the Art book.
Matthew & Keh
12 October 2012 & 2013
London
11

12

13

14

15

Adam Payne
16

17

Aaron Miller
18

i have considered this question and the
following is my answer
Aaron Miller
19

20

An art book to me is a
means for knowledge and a
connection that is not always
present when looking at a
body of work in a gallery or
museum. Rarely do you, the
viewer, get to here the artist
or art critic speak about the
work on the wall in a considered
and contextualized way.
The work we make as artists
relates to something, inevitably
from our life experience,
our interests socially, morally,
politically, etc… A good
art book will take a collection
of images, or an exhibition,
and contextualize them
so that the reader will have
a better understanding of the
driving force behind the work.
It may also shed light on a
broader composition of the
artist working process. Art is
not always easy to read as
a contextual statement, this
is where the art critic or historian
comes in, to fill in the
gaps. Artists work in a bubble
or vacuum, sometimes alone,
sometimes in a group but the
work is created with a limited
scope on the world around
them. The problem with this is
that we, as artists, want the
world to see and relate to
the art. This is certainly possible,
but it takes more than
one creative mind. Gallerists
and dealers can do this with
clientele who are intellectually
primed to interpret visual
imagery. Art books take this
idea of dissecting visual imagery
even further, with biographies,
historical references,
influences and juxtapositions
that break down information
that is not always present
in the gallery.The flip side
to this dissection of conceptual
development is the art
book as a symbol of status.
Art books are often glossy,
slick and sexy objects that
are more accessible than a
single painting in the gallery.
This kind of symbol is important
to the artist and the
21

22

collector. The more books
made about you, the more
important you might be in
the art historical realm, or,
perhaps the gallery sphere.
Artists want to have books
made about them. It is a
flattering thing to be scrutinized
to that degree. This
object will be seen and
thought about many more
times in its life than the
works that are represented
in its pages.The idea
of status pertains to the
collector of art books as
well; having books can be
a point of pride and a
constant source of renewable
conversation. A collection
of large art books
is an impressive thing to
behold. It can be a glimpse
into the mind of the collector.
When looking at
the collection it is possible
to form an opinion about
the owner based on the
variety, the focus, historical,
contemporary, painters,
sculptures, printmakers,
are there any repeat
artists, how big are the
books, and so on. As an
artist this is a great point
of access to the collector
as a person. We have
trained on and studied the
artists and techniques represented
in these books,
which help us, contextualize
and understand the
driving force behind the
collectors process coming
around full circle.
23

24

25

26

27

Alexis de Chaunac
28

29

30

31

32

33

Amy Fung
34

35

36

37

Anthony Miler
38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

Ben Stubbington
54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

Bobby Stackleather
64

65

66

67

68

69

Bruce High Quality Foundation
70

71

72

73

74

75

Catherine Taylor
76

77

Charlie Nesi
78

79

80

81

82

83

Colin Kilian
84

85

86

87

Cynthia Lin
88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

Diana Schmertz
98

99

100

101

102

103

Eli Rosenbloom
104

Which is new does not exist, but will
always be a rearrangement of the existing.
26 Letters
Eli Rosenbloom
105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

Emily Knecht
114

115

Emma Wasielke
116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

Fappacfno
128

129

Gwen Hardie
130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

Jacquelyn Ross
Up there, just near, in the
dappled light:
1. The silhouette of a stair
up to that red-breasted
sapsucker’s nest,
a buoy drawn taut to
an hourglass pot;
146

147

2. A sundial sail
with a bucket
reply,
dry cedar
halo, short hair tie;
148

149

3. Dog days, denim
dues,
a moon in a moon in a moon;
Sitting lost, fitting
ripe, a
peach
sliced in
two
’s lunch for
two.
150

151

Jason Alexander Byers
152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

Jomar Statkun
160

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

Michael Gittes
178

179

Julien Levy
180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

Kirsten McCrea
198

199

200

201

202

203

Kristina Lee
204

205

206

207

208

209

Kumasi Barnett
210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

Kyle Kouri
224

225

226

227

228

229

Lindsay Keys
230

231

Martyn Gallina-Jones
232

AN ART BOOK CAN BE AN AID TO MEMORY
LOST & FOUND
Lost your life
Lost your wife
Lost your husband
Lost your child
Lost your mother
Lost your father
Lost your daughter
Lost your son
Lost your brother
Lost your sister
Lost your tia
Lost your tio
Lost your primo
Lost your friend
Lost your pastor
Lost your arm
Lost your leg
Lost your sight
Lost your building
Lost your skyline
Lost your car
Lost your subway
Lost your street
Lost your school
Lost your job
Lost your money
Lost your shirt
Lost your stability
Lost your equilibrium
Lost your security
Lost your safety
Lost your normalcy
Lost your belief
Lost your faith
Lost your hope
Lost your way
Lost your will to live
Lost
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
Found your fear
Found your courage
Found your grief
Found your faith
Found your hope
Found your charity
Found your belief
Found your God
Found your prayer
Found your voice
Found your song
Found your partner
Found your children
Found your brother
Found your sister
Found your family
Found your friend
Found your neighbor
Found your hero
Found your people
Found your community
Found your city
Found your country
Found your government
Found your togetherness
Found your truth
Found your peace
Found your comfort
Found your shoulder
Found your embrace
Found your support
Found your thanks
Found your health
Found your strength
Found your chutzpah
Found your will to live
Found your life
Found.
© Martyn Gallina-Jones
9/25/01
233

Matthew Stock
234

235

236

237

Russell Perky
238

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

Sarah Faux
248

249

Samuel Stabler
250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

Sam Fyer
266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

281

282

283

Serena Qiu
284

If genre is synonymous with expectation, should it not be
troubling that art books have become Art Books? It makes a
bitter, comfortable history or catalogue or advertisement of itself.
The hope is to not to make nice on the shelf with others, but
to antagonize the idea of sequence and belonging, and what it
means to take a page.
Z. Q.
285

286

287

Sharon Butler
288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295

296

297

298

299

300

301

Simon Burstall
302

303

304

305

306

307

308

309

310

311

312

313

314

315

316

317

318

319

320

321

Tine Hage & Keh Ng
322

323

324

325

326

327

328

329

330

331

332

333

Tiziana La Melia
334

335

336

337

338

339

340

341

Tyler Healy
342

343

344

345

346

347

348

349

350

351

352

353

354

355

356

357

358

359

360

361

362

363

William Buchina
364

12 Portraits
of
Silvio Berlusconi
After He Was
Struck in
The Face
365

Silvio Berlusconi was struck in
the face with a metal souvenir
version of the famous Milan
Cathedral, on December 13th,
2009. He was bleeding profusely
from the mouth & nose, yet he
stated for the television cameras,
“I love blood, can you see? I am a
man who loves blood!”
His assailant was promptly beaten
to death by the crowd, which
then sang a riotous version of a
popular love song.
366

367

368

369

370

371

372

373

374

375

376

377

378

379

Zefrey Throwell
380

381

382

383

384

385

386

387

388

389

390

391

Omar Zeinc
392

393

Zeph Colombatto
394

> From: Max Teicher <masteicher@gmail.com>
> Date: 8 September 2013 19:53:11 GMT+01:00
> To: keh.ng@modernlanguageexperiment.org
> Subject: Fwd: Zeph Colombatto’s Narrative
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Zeph Colombatto <zepharc@gmail.com>
>> Date: September 7, 2013, 7:30:20 PM EDT
>> To: masteicher <masteicher@gmail.com>
>> Subject: Zeph Colombatto’s Narrative
>>
>> Hey Max
>>
>> So my narrative changed as I told you before. It’s become a story of contrast and juxtaposition.
>>
>> The order I would like them to be presented in would be
>> Jewish Boy outside City Hall - file titled 09-2013_What_is_an_art_Book1
>> Boy Digging in Sand - file titled 09-2013_What_is_an_art_Book2
>> Close up of Man - file titled 09-2013_What_is_an_art_Book4
>> Girl on the Bed - file titled 09-2013_What_is_an_art_Book3
>>
>> so 1, 2, 4, 3.
>>
>> I’m going to send them to you via wetransfer so look for those from me. I set them to 300dpi to fit
A4, and they should be in a .jpg format.
>>
>> As for credit, I assume you have your own methods otherwise, I own all them so no need to cite
anyone else, then the titles above and the year 2013 they were shot in.
>>
>> Read below for my description either before or after you get all four photographs. Your call.
>>
>> Its a story between youth and innocence forced to mature because of circumstances larger than the
subjects themselves. Yet on the other side, its two subjects that are the main subject of the photograph.
They are the focal point. There was no larger life event that put them in the situation they were in. Just
life as it goes on. Hopefully still intriguing enough for the viewer to stay engaged. Small moments in
Larger moments against personal small moments
>>
>> On one side are two photos of boys, one is a young Hassidic Jew I shot while outside a protest they
were staging in front of city hall in NY about Orthodox Jews now required to be drafted in Israel.
>>
>> The second is a young boy digging sand off the pier with spoons in Coney Island not long after
Sandy.
>>
>> Juxtaposed against
>>
395

396
>> The black man deep in thought just sitting on the street in nyc.
>>
>> And finally the girl laying on the bed in her underwear.
>>
>> Hope you enjoy man!
>>
>> Thanks
>> Zeph
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ---
>> Keep Curious, Intrepid, and Bold
>>
>> Zeph Colombatto
>>
>> zepharc.tumblr.com
>> spacewontsmash.tumblr.com
>> Instagram @zepharc
>> Twitter @zepharc
>> US cell- +1 917 370 9707
>> Italian cell +39 366 182 1354

397

398

399

400

401

402

403

Epilogue
404

405

406

407

408

409

410

411

412

413

414

This book was produced
as part of collaboration
between The Modern
Language Experiment,
Garis & Hahn and Y & S
6th – 8th September 2013
Editors
Keh Ng & Matthew Stock
Copy Editor
The Modern Language Experiment
Design
The Modern Language Experiment
Published
The Modern Language Experiment
First published 2013
contact@modernlanguageexperiment.org
Issue #3
Available to buy at
www.modernlangaugeexperiment.org
© the modern language experiment 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any mechanical, electronic or other
means known with out the permission in
writing from the publishers.
415

416

417

418

419

With Contributions by
Adam Payne
Aaron Miller
Alexis de Chaunac
Amy Fung
Anthony Miler
Ben Stubbington
Bobby Stackleather
Bruce High Quality Foundation
Catherine Taylor
Charlie Nesi
Colin Kilian
Cynthia Lin
Diana Schmertz
Eli Rosenbloom
Emily Knecht
Emma Wasielke
David Pappeceno
Gwen Hardie
Jacquelyn Ross
Jason Alexander Byers
Jomar Statkun
Michael Gittes
Julien Levy
Kirsten McCrea
Kristina Lee
Kumasi Barnett
Kyle Kouri
Lindsay Keys
Martyn Gallina-Jones
Matthew Stock
Russell Perky
Sarah Faux
Samuel Stabler
Sam Fryer
Serena Qiu
Sharon Butler
Simon Burstall
Tina Hage & Keh Ng
Tiziana La Melia
Tyler Healy
William Buchina
Zefrey Throwell
Omar Zeinc
Zeph Colombatto
420