Carl Andre Knihy

"When this beautiful catalog was first proposed, I rashly promised to write a dedicatory poem for it. But when I saw the first proof pages, it dawned on me that all the works which Elsbeth and Ruedi had made possible for me to create are in themselves an ongoing poem which I could never surpass." So writes Carl Andra of his work in Glarus, a Swiss mountain town.

In a 1973 interview, Minimalist sculptor and poet Carl Andre (born 1935) "I am a native son of Quincy, Massachusetts, proud of the town whether the town is proud of me or not." In lieu of an exhibition catalogue for his 1973 solo show at the Addison Gallery, Andre hired a commercial photographer to document landscapes from his hometown. Taken in the winter of that year, the resulting images of Quincy’s snow-covered headstones and monuments were composed into this artist’s book (the wry cover image is of a locally quarried headstone reading "Andre"). The stark black-and-white photographs focus on the industrial, working-class side of the city--the shipyard, railroad tracks, cranes and granite quarries--as well as on the creeks and dirt roads of its desolate wooded outskirts. An unusual work within Andre’s oeuvre, this artist’s book hints at the origins of his sculptural aesthetic.

As part of the 54th International Art Exhibition- la Biennale di Venezia, Personal Structures, presents 28 artists from 5 continents, representing 12 countries. The exhibition in 24 rooms, brings together an extraordinary combination of established artists next to artists whose oeuvre is less known. What they have in common is a dedication to the concepts Time - Space and Existence. The exhibition is curated by the Dutch curators Karlyn De Jongh and Sarah Gold. Personal Structures is held at Venice's prestigious Palazzo Bembo, by Rialto Bridge on Canal Grande. Each artist in the exhibition presents recent artworks, either site-specific, especially made for this exhibition, or coming directly from the artist's studio. Each room in Palazzo Bembo is dedicated to one single artist. Their strong statements give each of the rooms a very specific atmosphere. The exhibition features a broad variety of artistic media, such as: videos, sculptures, paintings, photos, installations with light, wallpaper and performance. The exhibition 'Personal Structures' is part of an international art project. It was initiated in 2002 by the Dutch artist Rene Rietmeyer, who noticed that even in the most distant corners of the world, there are artists working with Time - Space and Existence, thereby expressing themselves in a very personal way. This observation led to the idea of bringing several of these artists together in publications, exhibitions and symposia.

„Shapes and Positions“ präsentiert die Werke von Künstlern wie Andre, Flavin, Judd, Knoebel, Long, Mangold, Richter, Ryman und Walther, die aus dem Umfeld von Concept, Minimal und Land Art stammen. Die Auseinandersetzung mit den grundlegenden Prinzipien dieser Bewegungen ist angesichts ihrer Relevanz für zeitgenössische Strömungen von Bedeutung. Der Band versammelt eine Vielzahl von Texten, darunter Tagebuchaufzeichnungen, Interviews, Essays und frühe Stellungnahmen aus der Zeit der „Primary Structures“. Beiträge von renommierten Kunstkritikern wie Yve-Alain Bois und Lynne Cooke sowie Hal Fosters einflussreicher Aufsatz „Crux des Minimalismus“ von 1986 erweitern die Diskussion. Die Texte werden durch zahlreiche Fotografien ergänzt, die die ersten Versuche dokumentieren, eine Kunst zu präsentieren, die nicht auf vorgefasstem Wissen basiert, sondern die Präsenz des Betrachters in den Mittelpunkt stellt. Dieser Katalog begleitete die gleichnamige Ausstellung, die im September 1992 in der Kunsthalle und Galerie Ritter Klagenfurt eröffnet wurde und von Februar bis April 1993 im Museum Fridericianum in Kassel zu sehen war.