Monday, October 23, 2017

Rippin' for Gordon - #026 - Mario Benedetti sans Nostalgie d'Office Baroque

Mario Benedetti
Avec et sans Nostalgie


© Siglo XXI editores, S.A., Mexico, 1977. Titre original:
Con y sin nostalgia.

© Librairie François Maspero, Paris, 1978, pour l'édition
française.

ISBN 2-7071-1059-0

11,5 x 20,1 cm, 184p, softcover



On 23 October 2017 I ripped the 184 pages from Mario Benedetti Avec et sans Nostalgie, tore them in half and threw them in the Hole I've been Diggin' for Gordon in a basement at an undisclosed location in Antwerpen since 20 February 2006.
The title refers to Gordon Matta-Clark whose last and major work ‘Office Baroque’ in Antwerpen I illegally visited at the start of my career as an artist. The performance/installation evolved into a ‘mash-up’ with ingredients from the works of various avantgarde artists from the 70’s. For instance a slant row of florescent lights inspired by Dan Flavin takes care of lightning and an endless ladder as imagined by Vito Acconci makes it possible to get in and out of the hole. The work was made visible through a number of side actions and performances where I used some of the dirt I had been digging up. Most of the dirt was used to fill up James Lee Byars' tomb.
As of 9 September 2017 the Hole is filled with precious books from my private library.





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