Preview our SPRING 2026 catalog, featuring more than 500 new books on art, photography, design, architecture, film, music and visual culture.
PERFORMA PUBLICATIONS
Performa 09: Back to Futurism
Edited by Roselee Goldberg, Lana Wilson. Introduction by RoseLee Goldberg. Foreword by Hal Foster. Text by RoseLee Goldberg, Defne Ayas, Mark Beasley, Lana Wilson, Tairone Bastien, Esa Nickle, Claire Bishop, Linda Yablonsky, Emily Braun.
Written and edited by legendary performance art historian RoseLee Goldberg, Performa 09: Back to Futurism is the definitive document of the unforgettable Performa 2009 biennial. It is the third volume to draw content and inspiration from the world-renowned Performa biennials, and features creative documentation by the 150 artists who made Performa 09 so extraordinary--among them Guy Ben-Ner, Candice Breitz, Omer Fast, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Mike Kelley, Arto Lindsay, Wangechi Mutu, Christian Tomaszewski and Yeondoo Jung (all of whom presented special Performa Commissions) and Keren Cytter, Tacita Dean, Alicia Framis, Loris Greaud, William Kentridge and Joan Jonas (who brought US premieres to the biennial). Photographs of each artist's performance and texts contributed by curators and critics provide accounts of every show, as well as an understanding of the importance of each work within the artist's individual career and in relation to larger artistic trends. Taking place at over 80 of New York's most exciting art and cultural venues, Performa 09 was created as a collaboration between all of these moving parts, so a portrait of the city's remarkable history of cultural innovation also emerges from these pages. Performa 09: Back to Futurism is not only a gorgeous document of a remarkable biennial, but also an invaluable reference guide to the most significant artists of our time, for art historians and fans alike.
Featured image, a performance view of Yeondoo Jung's 2009 Cinemagician, is reproduced from
Performa 09: Back to Futurism.
"When cinema was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, the sight of moving pictures on a wall seemed like a magic trick to its first audiences. Magicians at the time saw the camera as another tool for their illusions, a way to use the magic of film to enhance their own acts. Through the combined talents of magicians, machinists, and prop builders, some of the very first film "tricks" were created through techniques that form the foundation of movie special effects today. One of the major early cinema pioneers, former cabaret illusionist George Méličs, soon became famed as the first "cinemagician" because of the ingenious effects he originated. Yeondoo Jung's first-ever live performance, Cinemagician, took Méličs as inspiration for creating a whimsical dual reality, showing illusions on a screen while unveiling the techniques behind them on stage at the same time."
ARTBOOK + R/Turpan hosted Performa'sRoseLee Goldberg and Salon 94's Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, along with supporters including Cindy Sherman and Ross Bleckner on August 4th in East Hampton for the launch of the new book, Performa 09: Back to Futurism. Greenberg Rohaytn also showcased The Crown Jewels, a line of fine baubles by artists produced in collaboration with R20th Century. The features artists include Ligia Dias, Michele Oka Doner, Anne Fischer, Karl Fritsch, Kara Hamilton, Emily Miranda and Kiki Smith. Performa 10 takes place in November of 2011. continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 7 x 9 in. / 400 pgs / 300 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $39.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $50 ISBN: 9780615450667 PUBLISHER: Performa Publications AVAILABLE: 7/31/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by Performa Publications. Edited by Roselee Goldberg, Lana Wilson. Introduction by RoseLee Goldberg. Foreword by Hal Foster. Text by RoseLee Goldberg, Defne Ayas, Mark Beasley, Lana Wilson, Tairone Bastien, Esa Nickle, Claire Bishop, Linda Yablonsky, Emily Braun.
Written and edited by legendary performance art historian RoseLee Goldberg, Performa 09: Back to Futurism is the definitive document of the unforgettable Performa 2009 biennial. It is the third volume to draw content and inspiration from the world-renowned Performa biennials, and features creative documentation by the 150 artists who made Performa 09 so extraordinary--among them Guy Ben-Ner, Candice Breitz, Omer Fast, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Mike Kelley, Arto Lindsay, Wangechi Mutu, Christian Tomaszewski and Yeondoo Jung (all of whom presented special Performa Commissions) and Keren Cytter, Tacita Dean, Alicia Framis, Loris Greaud, William Kentridge and Joan Jonas (who brought US premieres to the biennial). Photographs of each artist's performance and texts contributed by curators and critics provide accounts of every show, as well as an understanding of the importance of each work within the artist's individual career and in relation to larger artistic trends. Taking place at over 80 of New York's most exciting art and cultural venues, Performa 09 was created as a collaboration between all of these moving parts, so a portrait of the city's remarkable history of cultural innovation also emerges from these pages. Performa 09: Back to Futurism is not only a gorgeous document of a remarkable biennial, but also an invaluable reference guide to the most significant artists of our time, for art historians and fans alike.
