Issues of originality and public exposure, as well as the links to a commercial market inherent in all art, are key topoi for anyone interested in multiples, artist books, and limited edition objects. Editionen, an exhibition series comprising four presentations, features examples of positions that are closely related to the Secession’s program and which put into practice the idea of the edition as a tool in the democratization of the art market and as a vehicle for the creation of one’s own public realm. Each of the invited positions will show for two weeks in the Print Room at Secession.
In the work of General Idea, multiples of all kinds played a significant role from the outset. Between 1969 and 1994, the three Canadians AA Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal worked under this shared name, developing works that subverted the fetishization of artistic production and individual genius, at the same time ironizing, satirizing, and imitating the art market. One of their approaches was “to transform the commercial aspect of art and the economy of the art world itself into art.” For the presentation at the Secession, multiples were selected in which General Idea explicitly quoted or appropriated work by other artists.
www.aabronson.com
The activities of Pork Salad Press are many and varied, covering exhibitions, CDs, books, and artist projects. The Secession show features the current project Old News: for a month, artists invited by Jacob Fabricius–the brains behind Pork Salad Press–cut out of newspapers, stories, articles, and images they consider relevant. Isolated from their original context and then recompiled into a new newspaper, this information traces the polyphonic interests of the various artists. The clippings are reminiscent of a pin-board strewn with notices, a jumping-off point for further associations and new translations.
www.porksaladpress.org
En/Of, the edition launched and run by Robert Meijer, builds open dialogue between the work of high-ranking musicians and (mainly) conceptual artists. Based on the strict model of a double LP cover, each En/Of edition combines a two-dimensional artwork measuring 33 x 33 cm with a specially produced vinyl record. In these editions, fine art and music move in parallel, without adhering to any notion of crossover in the conventional sense-their relations can be rethought time and again.
www.bottrop-boy.com
For twenty years, Edition Artelier in Graz has been inviting artists from Austria and around the world to develop pieces specifically for their series of editions. Petra and Ralf Schilcher shape their program in strict accordance with a principle that states: “The technique employed must be the logically consistent translation for the specific art work. This approach confirms the original, productive factor of this technique as opposed to the facsimile aspect.” The presentation at Secession was designed by the artist Michael Schuster.
www.galerie-edition-artelier.at
