Jirí Kovanda: Actions & Installations 1976-2006

by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Pawel Polit, Jiri Kovanda (Artist)

This first complete record of Prague artist Jirí Kovanda's actions, installations and interventions over the past 30 years replicates the A4 pages (with photographs and typewritten texts attached) on which he documented his activities in the 1970s and 1980s. That first ephemeral work focused on the discoveries of new types of relationships, enacted with his friends and anonymous passersby in the streets. His installations from the 1980s were ironic responses to American Minimalism, set up in peripheral public spaces during the period of so-called "real socialism." "Actions and Installations 1975-2006" covers those evolving performances and interventions up through 2005 and situates Kovanda's work in the history of Conceptualism. Among its three interviews is a talk with the artist by Hans Ulrich Obrist. Kovanda has been invited to participate in Documenta 2007.

146 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London. Prior to this, he was Curator of the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris from 2000 to 2006, as well as curator of Museum in progress, Vienna, from 1993 to 2000. Obrist has co-curated over 250 exhibitions since his first exhibition, the Kitchen show (World Soup) in 1991: including 1st Berlin Biennale, 1998; Utopia Station, 2003; 1st & 2nd Moscow Biennale, 2005 and 2007; Lyon Biennale, 2007; and Indian Highway, 2008-2011.
Obrist is the editor of a series of conversation books published by Walther Koenig. He has also edited the writings of Gerhard Richter, Gilbert & George and Louise Bourgeois. He has contributed to over 200 book projects, his recent publications include A Brief History of Curating, dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop, The future will be…with M/M (Paris), Interview with Hans-Peter Feldmann, and Ai Wei Wei Speaks, along with two volumes of his selected interviews (Interviews: Vol. 1 & 2). The Marathon series of public events was conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist in Stuttgart in 2005. The first in the Serpentine series, the Interview Marathon in 2006, involved interviews with leading figures in contemporary culture over 24 hours, conducted by Obrist and architect Rem Koolhaas. This was followed by the Experiment Marathon, conceived by Obrist and artist Olafur Eliasson in 2007, the Manifesto Marathon in 2008, the Poetry Marathon in 2009, Map Marathon in 2010, and the Garden Marathon in 2011.
In 2009, Obrist was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In March 2011, he was awarded the Bard College Award for Curatorial Excellence.

Reviews

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never seen Kovanda’s work in real life, but was intrigued by this book’s cover. I glanced through it, and I bought it. Jiři Kovanda is a Czech conceptual & performance artist. The book’s main attractions are pictures from Kovanda’s performances. It also includes an interview.

Click the link below for a few pictures from the book...

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