Royal Book Lodge - Hatje Cantz

An overhead shot of four open books arranged in a two-by-two grid, displaying a variety of surrealist illustrations. The top-left book shows a stylized bird in a dress and a cloaked figure before a castle. The top-right has a collage with photography and a diagram. The bottom-left features a detailed line drawing of flowers with human faces. The bottom-right depicts a chaotic kitchen scene and two figures at a table connected by an object emerging from their mouths.

A two-page spread from a book, featuring text and artworks. The left page shows a small ink drawing of a house by Jeanne Susin and a still life of peaches by Henri Matisse. The right page displays a large, colorful, abstract expressionist painting of a figure by André Butzer.

An open art book displays two diptychs. The top pair of photos, one of a commercial kitchen and one of two men in a formal room, is covered in neon green and pink doodles. The bottom pair shows a theatrical scene with two people in elaborate costumes, and a close-up of a blue surface with childlike drawings and pink cotton-like puffs.

An open, turquoise textured portfolio box displaying two artworks by Véronique Bourgoin. On the left, a sepia-toned artwork of a formal room interior with a plaque titled Le Discret et le Continu. On the right, a grainy photograph of six champagne flutes on a bar cart with the title Willie ou Pas Willie.

A page from an art book. The left side displays a large photo of a ceramic sculpture by Jonathan Meese and Juli Susin. The sculpture consists of a mottled green and blue glazed, bulbous head with a wide, dark opening, set on a textured, golden trapezoidal base. The right side of the page contains a column of text about ceramics, interspersed with three smaller black-and-white images showing another sculpture, a film still, and artists in a studio.

A two-page spread from a book. On the left is a watercolor and pencil drawing by Linda Bilda showing a person with blue hair looking down from a balcony into a multi-tiered circular library. The right page contains text under the heading SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL (AND AFTER).

A framed collage by Guy Debord on a light background. The artwork features several black-and-white fragments of a city map arranged in a winding path. Black paper arrows are placed around and between the map pieces to indicate a route. In the top left corner is a small, torn photograph of two men, and in the bottom right is a small color postcard of a classical European harbor scene with ships.

An art installation on a black surface featuring a grandfather clock modified into a surreal monster with white horns and numerous brown, octopus-like tentacles. The creature stands before a three-panel screen with a green and gold pattern. On the left panel is a black recess with a gold bull-like symbol above the word SUMMONING. On the right panel hangs a framed, gold-toned line drawing of a woman.

A page from an art book showing two abstract gelatin silver prints by Véronique Bourgoin. The image on the left features a solid black rectangle with a soft shadow on a light gray background. The image on the right is its inverse, a glowing light gray rectangle surrounded by a dark black frame.

A two-page spread from a book. The left page features a large, surreal photograph by Juli Susin in a yellow-green tint, showing an abstract, lumpy sculpture in the foreground and a small creature in the background. The right page consists of a column of text with two small, inset black-and-white photos: one of a man at a lectern and a detail from a Mike Kelley artwork showing a man's face.

A two-page spread from an art book. On the left, a black ink drawing by Raymond Pettibon shows the muscular back of a figure under a shower, with handwritten text NO MOURN, NO LOSS at the bottom. The right page, titled AUTOBIOGRAPHY, contains columns of text and a small black-and-white photo of a hand resting in an open case.

A two-page book spread with text and images. The left page features a large black-and-white photo of a woman in a long coat, Véronique Bourgoin, standing on a city street next to an open, weathered utility box filled with wires and electronic equipment. The right page contains two columns of text and two smaller, color photographs of different art installations.

An open black folder displays the special edition of MATIÈRE PREMIÈRE. On the left is a black silkscreen by Jason Rhoades featuring whimsical pink diagrams and a large silver signature. On the right is a colorful, dynamic cover illustration by Andy Hope depicting a figure on a horse surrounded by flowing ribbons against a city backdrop with a bright sunburst.

Royal Book Lodge

€ 58.00

VAT included. Shipping costs will be calculated at checkout

Texts by: John C. Welchman

Graphic Design: Gregory Cadars

English

March 2023, 348 Pages, 410 Photos

Hardcover, with an original lithograph by Kai Althoff

254mm x 348mm

ISBN: 978-3-7757-5138-4

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de

According to Article 9(7) of the GPSR Regulation, no additional security information is required for books without supplements or special functions.

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| Collective Experiments

Renowned art historian John C. Welchman provides the first in-depth study of more than 30 years of creative activity by the Royal Book Lodge (RBL), a nimble and richly innovative network of international artists. Chapters examine the history and contexts of the RBL's pathbreaking work in photography, video, ceramics, writing, artist's books, archiving and collecting, and exhibition-making. Welchman discusses the leading ideas and practices of the formation as they have played out in the diverse cultural and political geographies of RBL affiliates and initiatives: narratives of displacement and migration; constructs of biography and fiction; notions of remote control; experiences and contestations of violence; and the RBL's signal collaborations with the protagonists and legacy of the Situationist International.

ROYAL BOOK LODGE emerged in the late 1980s from a collaboration between artists Juli Susin and Véronique Bourgoin. Affiliates include Raisa Aid, Kai Althoff, Anne Lefebvre, Linda Bilda, André Butzer, matali crasset, Guðný Guðmundsdóttir, Beate Günther, Tobias Hauser, Andy Hope 1930, Dorota Jurczak, Jochen Lempert, Roberto Ohrt, Jonathan Meese, Birgit Megerle, Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoades, Julia Rublow, Lucia Sotnikova, and Gianfranco Sanguinetti, among others.

JOHN C. WELCHMAN (*1958) is Distinguished Professor of art history at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of numerous publications on modern and contemporary art, including Modernism Relocated (1995), Art After Appropriation (2001), Past Realization (2016), After the Wagnerian Bouillabaisse (2019) and Richard Jackson (2020).