Underskog

If the understanding of the book / artist book / library as potential new space for art creations and public experiences is not new, contemporary globalization and digital revolution triggered a fresh interest in these matters. Indeed, in the most recent years, one witnessed the proliferation of art events and curatorial experiments focused on works whose main aim is to challenge our vision of the library’s or the book’s “traditional” role. A number of these works, putting classification and archiving methods at their core, use the book / library structural systems as ideological models (or counter-models) for art. Others use the apparent rigidness of these “mediums” or institutions as a powerful tool of social critique. Taken all together, they put before us the clandestine sensuality of the book’s or the library’s imaginary and physical spaces.

Have a look at Julie Jones’ selection of books from the Library’s own archive and fantastic new acquisitions before her lecture starts at 19:30.

Julie Jones is a photo-historian and associate curator at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.