1/2 An Autobiography

When he was 37 years old—then half an average lifespan—James Lee Byars (Detroit, 1932–Cairo, 1997) wrote his 1/2 An Autobiography. Sitting in a gallery, he jotted down thoughts and questions every time a visitor approached him, and published them afterwards in a book he also titled The Big Sample of Byars. Throughout his life, Byars constructed a myth around his persona, styling himself into a continuous performance that helped make him one of the most provocative and mythical figures in the contemporary art world.

Catalogue ed. by Magali Arriola & Peter Eleey. Mexico City/New York 2014. 301 S. mit 250 meist farb., meist ganz- bzw. doppelseit. Abb., brosch. - Text in engl. & span. Sprache.