Announcing the Specific Object 2005 Publication of the Year
Given to Philippe Parreno and mfc-Michèle Didier
for the publication Fade to Black
Specific Object is pleased to announce that it has named
Fade to Black, by Philippe Parreno, the Specific Object 2005 Publication of the Year.
Published by
mfc-Michèle Didier,
Fade to Black is a compendium of eleven sly artists' proposals in the form of a uniquely crafted artists’ book, that literally fades through the use of a photosensitive, phosphorescent, "glow-in-the-dark" ink.
Characterized by the publisher as a "'bedside book' that can only be browsed in the dark."
Fade to Black parlays temporal projects by Parreno into the material space of a book, which in turn fade to black in the ephemeral space of a reader's mind. A clever full circle that is underlined by the collaborative nature of Parreno's own environments, situations and spaces.
Parreno, a French artist born in Algeria in 1964, work has been described by Giorgio Verzotti in
Artforum, as "...having always called on the collective imagination and the behavioral modes to which it gives rise, and, as always, it is irony that lends his presentations a critical edge."
Fade to Black, like a fine wine, a great film, or a stunning piece of music, accumulates, lingers then dissipates. In the tradition of the
Specific Object Publication of the Year Award the book itself is a beautiful formal object too, but on some level that's irrelevant - it's a great book. Plain and simple.
Fade to Black's cover is printed by four-color offset, while its contents are screenprinted with a photosensitive, phosphorescent ink with subtle and succinct texts printed in black. A spiral binding allows the book to lie flat, freeing the pages to be viewed individually. Additionally the pages are perforated for easy removal from the book's spine allowing for display of the pages as a print portfolio.
Fade to Black has been produced in an edition of 520 unsigned and unnumbered copies, and an additional 60 signed copies and 20 Artists' Proofs.
The retail price of the unsigned and unnumbered edition of
Fade to Black $150 and may be ordered directly from Specific Object at: www.specificobject.com/fade_to_black or
[click here]
The signed edition of
Fade to Black is also available from Specific Object for $350 by
.[clicking here]
In addition to
Fade to Black, Specific Object also wishes to acknowledge four additional 2005 publications of high merit:
Thunder Lightning Strike
by The Go! Team, an audio CD released by Columbia Records
God Is Dad by Sarah Lucas and Olivier Garbay, published by Sadie Coles HQ
Hippie Drawings by Richard Prince, co-published by Sadie Coles HQ & Hatje Cantz
The Purification of Fagus sylvatica var pendula by Paul Etienne Lincoln, co-published by Coracle and Granary Books.
Finally, Specific Object also wishes to acknowledge the publication of
Then & Now by Edward Ruscha, published by Steidl, as, of course, without Ruscha we wouldn't have Standards.
About the Specific Object Publication of the Year Award
From 2004 forward Specific Object will select a Specific Object Publication of the Year. The winner of the 2004 Specific Object Publication of the Year Award was Jonathan Monk for his book
Cover Version, published by Book Works U.K. Winners of the award win a cash prize of $500 and the title of
Publication of the Year. Rules for consideration for the
Specific Object 2006 Publication of the Year award can be found at:
http://www.specificobject.com/projects/Publication_Award
B>About Specific Object
Specific Object, is a personal venture by David Platzker, which aims to aggregate interesting objects in any artistic medium and present them in temporary locations on an ongoing basis, as well as to present these objects - and additional objects of interest - online at www.specificobject.com.
Specifically, Specific Object is an attempt to isolate distinct works of value - historically, monetarily and / or personally valuable - and show them in an isolated context without the artifice of visual confusion or clutter in hopes of allowing these works, or objects, their own place, space and time. The material to be shown will range from artists’ publications, ephemera, prints, multiples and other editions to literature, music / audio works and unique artworks of the contemporary world.
From 1998 through 2004 Platzker was the Executive Director of the non-profit institution Printed Matter, Inc. He is also the co-author, and co-curator - with Elizabeth Wyckoff - of
"Hard Pressed: 600 Years of Prints and Process (International Print Center New York & Hudson Hills Press, 2000); and - with Richard H. Asxom - the book and exhibition entitled
Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters, and Ephemera by Claes Oldenburg: A Catalogue Raisonné 1958-1996 (Madison Art Center & Hudson Hills Press, 1997), which was awarded the George Wittenborn Award for Best Art Publication of 1997 by the Art Libraries Society of North America. Platzker has also curated exhibitions of the works of John Baldessari, Marcel Duchamp, Donald Judd, Oldenburg, Dieter Roth, and Edward Ruscha in addition to commissioning or curating exhibitions at Printed Matter of Angelblood, Larry Clark, Erin Cosgrove, Meg Cranston, General Idea, Jenny Holzer, Reverend Jen, Allan Kaprow, Yoko Ono, Ryan McGinness, Sonic Youth, Tom Sachs, David Tremlett, Richard Tuttle and the Guerrilla Girls.
In November 2004 Specific Object acquired the inventory of Bound & Unbound from Barbara Moore.
For more information regarding Specific Object please visit its website: www.specificobject.com or email
[email protected]
