Lost Art by Chris Nozenzo - Emerging Artists Publication Series - Published by Printed Matter, Inc
Printed Matter is pleased to announce the publication of Lost Art, an artists’ book by Chris Nosenzo. The title is the second of six to be published as part of our Emerging Artists Publication Series, and will be available for the first time at this year’s NY Art Book Fair.
Lost Art is a catalog of post-modern artworks that have suffered a material destruction, displacement, or disappearance. Conceived as a print archive, this book collects the documents and remains of 25 lost works ranging from Duchamp’s “Bicycle Wheel,” lost a century ago, to a Warhol film destroyed by police, a suite of prints from Richard Prince that hung in the World Trade Center, and Tracey Emin’s shattered “Always.” Manifesting Lucy Lippard’s observed “dematerialization of art,” all that remains are documentation and secondary sources. The book includes color plates and descriptions for each of the works, followed by a collection of notes from Nosenzo falling somewhere between art-history and personal account.
“How can this sublime be achieved if there is a void, if the object is lost? Again this question arises: can documentation and fragments of lost artwork be sufficient to stand in as a surrogate? Or maybe, on the contrary, can the evidence of death itself summon the sublime?”
That all these lost works have been forged by the curator is never mentioned in the publication
Grounded in research and committed to assimilation into the art-world as a specific object, the exhibition catalog as artists’ publication allows for a unique type of subversive interaction. While art forgeries are usually made for material gain, here the act is fruitless. This reversal emphasizes the idea rather than the commodity nature of the artwork, reiterating efforts that have already been made by most of these artists in their concept-driven practice. Ultimately the project, built up of layers and contradictions, is essentially a bound and printed commitment to an exceedingly complex waste of time.
The Emerging Artists Publication Series serves to showcase emerging artists whose practice has demonstrated a commitment to experimentation within the artists’ book medium in unusual and exciting ways. The series is generously funded by the Jerome Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation.
Production coordination by Garrick Gott.
Lost Art is tape bound, measures 5 x 8”, printed color offset and black & white risograph on variable stock. The publication is printed in an edition of 350 and retails for $15.00. It will be available for the first time at Printed Matter’s book at the NY Art Book Fair.
Chris Nosenzo is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to working in a variety of mediums, he produces Packet, a biweekly art publication.
