The 50th anniversary edition of MoMA's trendsetting book on conceptual art
In the summer of 1970, the Museum of Modern Art in New York mounted the now legendary exhibition Information, one of the first surveys of conceptual art. Conceived by MoMA’s celebrated curator Kynaston McShine as an “international report” on contemporary trends, the show and attendant catalog together assembled the work of more than 150 artists from 15 countries to explore the parameters and possibilities of the emerging art practices of the era. Noting the participating artists’ attunement to the “mobility and change that pervades their time,” McShine underscored their interest in “ways of rapidly exchanging ideas, rather than embalming the idea in an ‘object.’” Indeed, much of the work in the exhibition engaged mass-communications systems, such as broadcast television and the postal service, and addressed viewers directly, often encouraging their participation in return.
The catalog, rather than merely document the show, functioned autonomously: it included a list of recommended reading, a chance-based index by critic Lucy Lippard, and individual artist contributions in the form of photographic documentation, textual description, drawings and diagrams—some relating to work in the exhibition and others to artworks as yet unrealized. This facsimile edition of the original Information catalog, which has long been out of print, invites reengagement with MoMA’s landmark exhibition while illuminating the early history of conceptual art.
Kynaston McShine was formerly Chief Curator at Large at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Featured spreads, both by Giorno Poetry Systems, are reproduced from Information, MoMA’s fiftieth anniversary facsimile edition of the legendary catalog for curator Kynaston McShine’s 1970 survey of conceptual art—the first of its kind at a major institution. Featuring work by pioneering conceptualists such as Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Mel Bochner, Hanne Darboven, Sol LeWitt, Lucy R. Lippard, Helio Oiticica, Yoko Ono, Adrian Piper, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Smithson, Lawrence Weiner, John Giorno (of Giorno Poetry Systems) and many more, the catalog is one of the most satisfying examples of highbrow low-fi publishing that we’ve ever encountered. If you’re into facsimile editions, this one’s simply excellent. Giorno’s “Dial-a-Poem,” represented by the spreads reproduced here, invited museumgoers to dial the telephone number 956-7032 to hear poems read by John Ashbery, William Burroughs, Bernadette Mayer, Frank O’Hara, Bobby Seale, Anne Waldman and others. continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 8 x 10 in. / 208 pgs / 100 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $35.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $49 ISBN: 9780870709760 PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art, New York AVAILABLE: 10/8/2019 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. By Kynaston McShine. Text by Lucy Lippard, et al.
The 50th anniversary edition of MoMA's trendsetting book on conceptual art
In the summer of 1970, the Museum of Modern Art in New York mounted the now legendary exhibition Information, one of the first surveys of conceptual art. Conceived by MoMA’s celebrated curator Kynaston McShine as an “international report” on contemporary trends, the show and attendant catalog together assembled the work of more than 150 artists from 15 countries to explore the parameters and possibilities of the emerging art practices of the era. Noting the participating artists’ attunement to the “mobility and change that pervades their time,” McShine underscored their interest in “ways of rapidly exchanging ideas, rather than embalming the idea in an ‘object.’” Indeed, much of the work in the exhibition engaged mass-communications systems, such as broadcast television and the postal service, and addressed viewers directly, often encouraging their participation in return.
The catalog, rather than merely document the show, functioned autonomously: it included a list of recommended reading, a chance-based index by critic Lucy Lippard, and individual artist contributions in the form of photographic documentation, textual description, drawings and diagrams—some relating to work in the exhibition and others to artworks as yet unrealized. This facsimile edition of the original Information catalog, which has long been out of print, invites reengagement with MoMA’s landmark exhibition while illuminating the early history of conceptual art.
Kynaston McShine was formerly Chief Curator at Large at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
