Full Description
Japanese-born, New-York-based On Kawara (b.1933) is one of the world's best-known Conceptual artists, a major international figure since the 1960s. Kawara's existence is documented solely through his daily art-making practice. Best known are his Date Paintings (1965-ongoing), in which he methodically creates a single painting a day, with simply the date written on it. This book is a rare chance for his followers to unravel more of the mystery of this cult figure, and for less familiar readers to be introduced to his fascinating life and work. A unique feature of this book is the Tribute section, which reflects the artist's lifelong commitment never to be personally documented in his own words. A collection of short statements by 30 individuals selected personally by Kawara - among them artists Lawrence Weiner and Dan Graham, and cultural theorist Homi Bhabha - create an indirect 'portrait of the artist'. In the Survey, Curator Jonathan examines the artist's long-standing career: from his early figurative painting in the 1950s, to his later, text-based Conceptual art. Curator Rene Denizot analyses in his Focus a two-person exhibition combining Kawara's work with Alberto Giacometti's, revealing both artists' shared concern for the essence of human existence. The artist's interest in the nature of consciousness is reflected in a scientific essay he has selected for his Artist's Choice from the academic Journal of Consciousness Studies. In the Artist's Writings, a series of handwritten love letters in an indecipherable code reflect the mix of the impersonal and the deeply humanistic threads that run through Kawara's art.
Contents
'Tribute' - A collection of short statements (anecdotes, encounters with the artworks, personal relflections) by thirty individuals (artists, philosophers, poets and critics) selected by On Kawara, this section has been created uniquely for this monograph in response to the non-personal nature of the artist's work - Survey - Curator and critic Jonathan Watkins examines the artist's long career, from his early success in the 1950s in Japan, to his later, more philosophical art influenced by Jean Paul Sartre and others. - Focus - Curator Rene Denizot analyses a two-person exhibition of Kawara's Date Paintings with Alberto Giacometti's figurative sculpture, revealing both artists' shared concern for the essence of human existence. - Artist's Choice -Kawara's interest in the study of consciousness is reflected in a scientific essay he has selected from the academic Journal of Consciousness Studies. - Artist's Writings - A series of handwritten loveletters in an indeciperable code reflect the mix of the impersonal and the deeply humanistic in Kawara's art. - Chronology and Bibliography
