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Boltanski, Christian : Dernieres Annees

Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris, Paris, France, 1998

ISBN 287900425X

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 25 pages. Exhibition Catalog. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as a softcover original only. The Exhibition Catalog is now rare. Published on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition of the same name held at the Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris from May 15 through October 4, 1998. Presents Christian Boltanski's "Dernieres Annees". A rare overview of Christian Boltanski's mature work in a retrospective that was held in conjunction with "Kaddish", one of the artist's - and contemporary art's - greatest achievements. The Catalog is beautifully and movingly presented as a series of words by Boltanski interspersed with photographs of his later works. The latter are now recognized as among the greatest art of our time: "Menschlich"; "Perdus" ("Lost"); and "Suisses Morts" ("Dead Swiss"), among other site-specific installations. The emphasis Boltanski places on the most fragile objects (which a photograph as well as a very cheaply produced Artist Book is) to evoke our "struggle against death" (his phrase) is the central idea behind his sublime art. As such, Boltanski's work is not "about" death but "against" it, through art rather than polemics. His obsession with death is often mistakenly seen as acceptance or even embrace of it when as Boltanski himself repeatedly says, the role of memory is to insist on the sanctity of human life, that whenever we remember those who have died, we remember their lives, not their death, and that memorial, archive, and elegy ultimately affirm life. At the same time, Boltanski acknowledges, more than any other living artist, that death is a fact of life, and that even as we struggle against it, we intuitively realize this fact from a series of "death experiences" throughout our lives: The end of childhood, which Boltanski regards as the first death we experience in life; the loss, not necessarily the actual death, of a loved one, which is why we call it "the end" of a romance, relationship, or marriage; a life-threatening illness; severe physical or psychological violence inflicted upon us. Denying the reality of death is more dangerous than our fear of it. An absolute "must-have" title for Christian Boltanski collectors. This title is now collectible. This is one of few copies of the Exhibition Catalog still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest artists of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 287900425X.

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