Appear to me – Susan Phillipsz

Posted in literature, Motto Berlin store, writing on January 7th, 2011
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Appear to me – Susan Phillipsz

¨Appear to Me¨ consists of a recording of a young woman singing to the tune of the Gregorian chant, ¨Salve Regina¨ . The haunting text, with its allusions to a voice rising like a bird in flight, …

D 15€

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Mousse #26

Posted in magazines, Motto Berlin store, painting, photography, Theory, writing on January 7th, 2011
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Mousse #26

Jimmie Durham has an interesting theory about money: it’s a virus that’s using its biology, architecture and art to replace human nature with its own…

Nick Relph is tangled in the weave of a tartan. Kirsty Bell met up with him to discover his sources of inspiration, which range from his own closet to Ellsworth Kelly’s paintings, by way of DIY groups on the web.

In the last twenty-six years, Moyra Davey has photographed almost no one. On the other hand, she has very clear ideas about the role played by literature in her universe of objects and dust. Gigiotto Del Vecchio explored it with the artist.

Ten, twenty, or even thirty years ago, who would have thought that talking about art schools would become cool? Dieter Roelstraete has an astute theory about this epoch-making “educational turn”.

A two-ton asteroid is reason enough to set Guillermo Faivovich and Nicolás Goldberg to work on a project that incorporates scientific knowledge, socio-political history, and the inexplicable magnetism of an alien object. Johan Lundh talked about it with the artistic duo for PART OF THE PROCESS.

Laure Prouvost has a passion for arranging meetings in unusual places, and Francesco Pedraglio had to follow her through muddy tunnels for an interview about her work. Which lies at the border between surrealism and plausibility.
The Chto Delat? collective is inspired by Lenin and carries on the revolution through musicals. But can it keep political symbols from being co-opted by aesthetics? That’s one of the questions raised by Jakob Schillinger.
Běla Kolářová lived in the shadow of her husband, artist and poet Jiří Kolář, and yet her sophisticated, conceptual work, made up of personal objects, deserves a special place in art history. Alice Motard talks about it.

ARTIST PROJECT: Leonor Antunes.

Plus…

For LOST AND FOUND, Jens Hoffmann traces the career of Marta Minujin, a pioneer of happenings and media art, a global artist ante litteram.

Barbara Casavecchia got the rare chance to take a look at his endless archive of useless images. As a result, through SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET, we too get to explore the terraced house in Chalk Farm, north of London, that belongs to John Stezaker.

D 8€

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SWILL CHILDREN

Posted in Editions, Motto Berlin store, music, photography on January 6th, 2011
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Penelope Umbrico – Desk Trajectories (As Is)

A new series by Penelope Umbrico, Desk Trajectories (As Is) includes found images of used office desks for sale on the Internet. This work serves as an answer to her continual interest in a certain optimism typically associated with fictions of unattainable lifestyles marketed for and lusted after by consumers.

These desks, once the definitive site of organization and productivity, now sit empty, dusty, and cumbersome ­ as awkward in their photographic frame as they are in the space in which they are pictured. The disorienting compositional space of the pictured flat planes inhibits the viewer to readily discern and give context to the objects presented. In these pictures, all efficiency, productivity, and elegance is in question ­ the mere fact that the desk is out of commission, being sold, points to an attendant deflation of these values.

Published by Swill Children
Edition of 100
B/W Offset on Newsprint
Saddle Stitched

D 5€

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Diwa Tamrong – Somebody Else’s Problem

Somebody Else’s Problem (SEP) is an ongoing series that explores the different ways an artist can loose control of their own work. Every new part to the series uses means of destruction, re-contextualization, collaboration and attempts of preservation in order to further investigate this notion. The work continues to grow with each version, but the artist’s control over the work dwindles as it falls into the hands of other people, disseminating through the internet and everything in between.

Published by Swill Children
Edition of 30

D 15€

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Classification of a Spit Stain – Ellie Ga

Posted in Uncategorized on January 5th, 2011
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Classifications of a Spit Stain – Ellie Ga

Classification of a Spit Stain is the result of Ellie Ga’s two-year project photographing and analyzing stains on city pavements throughout the world. Accompanying the photographs is a classification system which organizes the stains according to various qualities such as substance and longevity. A combination of urban flaneurie and garbology, Classification of a Spit Stain is a mysterious field guide to the landscape underneath the soles of our shoes. The original version of this artist book, made in an edition of twenty-five copies, is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, Yale University, Brown University, and UCLA’s Dickson Library, among others. This trade edition was produced in response to sustained interest.

This book was funded in part by grants from the NEA and from the Jerome Foundation (via CLMP).

Hardcover. 64 pp, 6.75 x 8.5 in.
Published by Ugly Duckling Presse

D 19.90€

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Newwork Magazine # 5

Posted in Fashion, graphic design, magazines, Motto Berlin store on January 5th, 2011
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Newwork Magazine # 5
The fifth issue of newwork magazine finds a range of artists and designers exploring the concept of grace, infusing their very different work with a similar attunement to the ineffable, the elegant, the sublime.
A survey of books from st. Gallen showcases three generations of book designers who have stayed true to their city’s heritage as the heart of swiss book design while breaking new ground (and old rules) with playful use of asymmetry and unconventional typographic design. Grandfather to this vibrant multigenerational movement is Rudolf Hosteler, editor of “typografische monatsblätter”, who mentored jost hochuli, master typographer, graphic designer, and book designer. Hochuli, in turn, served as teacher to the founding members of the award-winning swiss design team, tgg hafen senn stieger and to gaston isoz, an accomplished book designer working out of berlin. While each of these designers takes a unique aesthetic approach, they are united by a fascination with graceful creative solutions.
Joining the book designers in this issue is jürgen bergbauer, a german-born fine artist / photographer who obsessively photographs rocks, extracts them from their natural contexts, and places them into flat off-white spaces, producing studies that temper analytical beauty with radiant calm. Taka mayumi, japanese-born, paris-based fashion photographer, produces a breathtaking fashion story of genderless beauty. And veteran photographer lillian bassman breathes new life into the “mad men”-era glamour she helped define with her iconic imagery and maverick darkroom techniques. As bassman’s interview with newwork reveals, her own inimitable grace flows from equal parts vision, spunk and timeless sex appeal.

32″x21.5″
104 pages
Softcover
English

D 15 €

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n+1 – What was the Hipster? a sociological investigation

Posted in Motto Berlin store, Theory, Uncategorized, writing on January 5th, 2011
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n+1 research branch small book series: What was the Hipster? a sociological investigation

“Who was the turn-of-the-century hipster? Who is free enough of the hipster taint to write its history without contempt or nostalgia? A panel of writers invited the public to join an investigation into the rise and fall of the contemporary hipster. In addition to the panel transcript, the book includes essays and responses from critics.”

D 10€

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Pa/per View, Zabludowicz Collection, London, January 22-23

Posted in Uncategorized on January 5th, 2011

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