Unpacking my library
Subtitle: artists and their books
By: edited by Jo Steffens and Matthias Neumann
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 166
ISBN-13: 9780300216981
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Books and reading; Best books; Artists
Other titles: Artists and their books
Description: Taking its inspiration from Walter Benjamin's seminal 1931 essay, the Unpacking My Library series charts a spirited exploration of the reading and book collecting practices of today's leading thinkers. Artists and Their Books showcases the personal libraries of ten important contemporary artists based in the United States (Mark Dion, Theaster Gates, Wangechi Mutu, Ed Ruscha, and Carrie Mae Weems), Canada (Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller), and the United Kingdom (Billy Childish, Tracey Emin, and Martin Parr). Through engaging interviews, the artists discuss the necessity of reading and the meaning of books in their lives and careers. This is a book about books, but it even more importantly highlights the role of literature in shaping an artist's self-presentation and persona. Photographs of each artist's bookshelves present an evocative glimpse of personal taste, of well-loved and rare volumes, and of the individual touches that make a bookshelf one's own. The interviews are accompanied by top ten reading lists assembled by each artist, an introduction by Jo Steffens, and Marcel Proust's seminal essay On Reading.
Table of contents: title: Foreword  -- Jo Steffens; title: On reading  -- Marcel Proust; title: Artists and their books. Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller ; Billy Childish ; Mark Dion ; Tracey Emin ; Theaster Gates ; Wangechi Mutu ; Martin Parr ; Ed Ruscha ; Carrie Mae Weems --; title: List of contributors.