Lessons Of Darkness by Christian Boltanski

(1988)

First edition catalogue, published on the occassion of the exhibition Christian Boltanski: Lessons Of Darkness, coorgansied by Musuem of Contemporary Art, Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York.

Medium format soft cover in fine condition. Slight shelf-wear to the corners on the cover. Some reading wear along the spine on the back cover (see pictures). Slight age tone to the cover and pages. Otherwise, pages clean and binding firm.

119 pages.

15 color illustrations, 224 black and white illustrations.

About

Christian Boltanski: Lessons of Darkness (1988) catalogs the first in-depth exploration of Christian Boltanki’s art in a American Museum. With essays from the artist and exhibition organiser Lynn Gumpert, the catalogue investigates the significance and origins of the artist’s major themes: life and death, childhood and memory, and the blurred lines between art and daily life. Extensive illustrations reveal Boltanski’s dramatic use of light and shadow in both photographic and installation work. The catalogue includes a biographical essay and a 16-page photo-essay by the artist, “Detective,” exploring the faces of anonymity and individuality.

“I was eleven years old in 1955 and I resembled these sixty-two children, whose photos were pictured in that year’s Mickey Mouse Club magazine. They had each sent in the picture that, according to their opinion, represented them best: smiling and well-groomed or with their favourite toy or animal. They had the same desires and the same interests that I did. Today they must all be about my age, but I can’t learn what has become of them.” -Christian Boltanski, quoted by Lynn Gumpert, “The Life and Death of Christian Boltanski,” p. 58. Exhibition catalogue.