Contemporary Art Museum, Houston

Ben Patterson: In the State of Fluxus

Edited by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Text by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Bertrand Clavez, Charles Gaines.

Performing and visual artist Ben Patterson (born 1934) was a founding member of Fluxus' participatory, do-it-yourself, anticommercialist avant-garde network. While many Fluxus artists, influenced by John Cage's precedent, employed conceptual techniques borrowed from music (e.g., the event score), Patterson's fusion of art and music was informed by his background as a classically trained double-bassist. His "Variations for Double Bass" (1960), for example, was played with the titular instrument balanced upside down on its scroll. Published for a retrospective at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, this volume includes an anthology of Patterson's scores, edited by Fluxus scholar Jon Hendricks; a chronology of the artist's life and work; a CD compilation of his musical performances from 1961 to 2009, produced by Alga Marghen; and essays by a variety of scholars, assessing the career of one of Fluxus' foremost and wittiest artists.

Hand + Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft

Edited by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Text by Glenn Adamson, Valerie Cassel Oliver, Namita Wiggers.

Hand + Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft assesses the latest developments in the ever-increasing overlap between contemporary art and craft. Through the incorporation of performance, the artists featured in this volume have not only broadened the context and function of the handmade object itself, but also usefully blurred the distinctions between the genres of the performing and sculptural arts. The 19 artists featured in this book have either sought to animate the handmade object by using it as an instrument of performance; to extend its impact through public interventions; or to propose their works as residuals of spectacles or happenings. The participating artists are B Team, Conrad Bakker, Nick Cave, Cat Chow, Sonya Clark, Gabriel Craig, Theaster Gates, Cynthia Giachetti, Ryan Gothrup, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Lauren Kalman, Christy Matson, James Melchert, Yuka Otani, Sheila Pepe, Michael Rea, Anne Wilson, Saya Woolfalk, and Bohyun Yoon.

BEN PATTERSON: IN THE STATE OF FLUXUS
Edited by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Text by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Bertrand Clavez, Charles Gaines.
ISBN: 9781933619293 | US $34.95
Forthcoming | Awaiting stock

HAND + MADE: THE PERFORMATIVE IMPULSE IN ART AND CRAFT
Edited by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Text by Glenn Adamson, Valerie Cassel Oliver, Namita Wiggers.
ISBN: 9781933619262 | US $20.00
Forthcoming | Awaiting stock

THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
Edited by Polly Koch. Foreword by Linda Shearer. Introduction by Toby Kamps.
ISBN: 9781933619125 | US $34.99
Active | Awaiting stock

NO ZONING: ARTISTS ENGAGE HOUSTON
Text by Toby Kamps, Cameron Armstrong, Meredith Goldsmith, Caroline Huber, Susanne Theis, Jack Massing, Michael Galbreth.
ISBN: 9781933619194 | US $24.95
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BLACK LIGHT/WHITE NOISE: LIGHT AND SOUND IN CONTEMPORARY ART
Foreword by Marti Mayo. Text by Greg Tate, Romi Crawford, Valerie Cassel Oliver.
ISBN: 9781933619040 | US $19.95
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PERSPECTIVES@25
Essays by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Chuck Close, Nayland Blake, Cheryl Brutvan, Peter Doroshenko, Lynn Herbert, Marti Mayo, Paola Morsiani, Theresa Papanikolas, Emily Todd, Stephanie Smith and Marilyn A. Zeitlin.
ISBN: 9780936080901 | US $29.95
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SPLAT BOOM POW!
Text by Valerie Cassel, Roger Sabin, Bernard Weldt, Marti Mayo.
ISBN: 9780936080789 | US $24.95
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WHEN 1 IS 2
Essays by Alighiero e Boetti, Paola Morsiani and Barry Schwabsky.
ISBN: 9780936080758 | US $24.95
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SELLING HISTORY, DENNIS ADAMS
Artwork by Dennis Adams. Contributions by Peter Doroshenko.
ISBN: 9780936080345 | US $14.95
Active | In stock