CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/16/2015

Asger Jorn & Jacqueline de Jong: The Case of the Ascetic Satyr

"Opening The Case of the Ascetic Satyr is a bit like lifting the lid on a puzzle box, an old one that has been opened many times before," Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library curator Kevin Repp writes in his introduction to this remarkable new artist's book published in a signed and numbered edition of 200 copies. "What is it supposed to be? There is no picture on the cover to give a clue. Only a string of possible titles, indifferently scrawled in two different hands across rough brown butcher paper. From among them, the editor of this edition has apparently derived the present, abbreviated version. 'The case of the ascetic satyr. and the the sadistic martyr. Torro del mare. Pantalan,' the hand of Asger Jorn puts forth; 'flowerpower, Ms Gebed, Snapshots of eternity,' parries the jousting hand of Jacqueline de Jong. Still other titles surface on the scrambled scraps of paper to be found inside: 'the case of the violating violin—the violin violating viola da gamba,' and so on. And on. Rather than hints or answers, a cacophonous din of jibes, jokes and the jarring immediacy of intimate conversations between strangers suddenly interrupted speaking in tongues. How do the woodcuts fit in? They seem to offer some sort of structure. Yet the sibylline series of Jacqueline's images confronts us like a row of quizzical sphinxes. Doubts arise. Are there pieces missing? Perish the thought. But how can you tell?" The Case of the Ascetic Satyr launches tonight at Blum & Poe; advance copies will be available at ARTBOOK @ MoMA PS1 during the New York Art Book Fair.