Page 18 - Studio International - March 1968
P. 18

Non-games                                diversions which must be dismantled and  has an extraordinary mysterious colour;
                                               then carefully re-assembled. All these are  another is a volume by Wolfgang Schmidt
                                               utilitarian in so far as one can spend time  entitled  O.P.  The book doesn't exist—it is
                                               and achieve some satisfaction in putting  what it says it is, out of print.
                                               the elements together to make a whole, or   One of the more reserved and even more
                                               play a game of rummy with specially  puzzling efforts in this direction is a book by
                                               designed cards. Nor am I referring to books  Herman de Vries published by Edition
                                               made by artists in de luxe editions of which  Hansjörg Mayer in 1967. This small 250-
                                               every page is an original print, with the
                                               size of type face and price of folio setting
                                               them apart from other books; nor those
                                               books in which painters practise concrete
                                               poetry and poets try to make their texts
                                               visual; nor, finally, those where pages are
      Jasia Reichardt                          cut up and a variety of heads, bodies and
                                               legs can be assembled at will to form some
                                               hilarious effigy.
                                                The esoteric books and games we are in-
      'Computers', said Jack Heller, director of  volved with here are those which one
      New York University's Institute for Com-  cannot do anything with. The books are
      puter Science, 'will produce new Renais-  books by virtue of having their pages bound
      sance people. Ever since the Industrial Age  together; the games are games because
      began, we have been fragmenting our  this is what they are called by their makers.
      knowledge into specialized fields. Once we  Among books which defy any process of
      have worked computers into all fields of  reading or even sequential looking-through
      humanities and sciences people will have  are some of the books by Diter Rot. One, for
      an immense new variety of knowledge and  instance, is a bound volume of rejected
      this will lead to new correlations and new  printers' off-prints and proofs; another con-
      concepts.' Heller was referring to the  sists entirely of black and white cut-up
      Museum Computer Network which, under  pages.
      the direction of Everett Ellin, will eventually   In his series called  Quadrat-prints,  Peter
      correlate data about art objects in the  Brattinga published one of Diter Rot's
      various museum collections throughout the  books. It consists of 60 loose-leaf pages,
      States. The information explosion about  each of which is a blow-up of a small sec-
      which so much has been written, and which  tion of the  Daily Mirror.  Diter Rot himself
                                                                                        Above
      has been welcomed by researchers and  wrote about it as follows: 'They are part of a   Endpaper from Herman de Vries' Wit (Weiss);
      others involved in rationalizing and analys-  group of books I made in the year 1962 out
      ing objects and events, has had one notable,  of a bunch of DAILY MIRRORS—        Facing page
      if small, repercussion which one could only  '. . . INSTEAD OF SHOWING QUALITY    Two cards from a set of 52 by
      describe as rather sad. The decline of  (surprising quality)                      George Brecht, published by 'Fluxus'.
      knowledge as a privilege, and as something  WESHOW QUANTITY (surprising quantity).
      rare and special, has led a number of  I got this idea (Quantity instead of Quality)  page volume is entitled Wit (followed by the
      artists, writers and other creative people to  in this way:                       German translation  Weiss). The pages are
      seek an esoteric area for their activities,  'QUALITY' in BUSINESS (F.i. advertising)  white and entirely empty. The  einleitung
      which would of necessity be so personal and   is just a subtle way of being Quantity-  (introduction) is a blank page signed by
      incomprehensible that the information  minded:                                    J.C. van Schagen, and the only text is pro-
      about them would never reach computer  Quality in advertising wants expansion and  vided by the publisher who carefully guards
      storage data. Their discoveries would  (in the end)                               the copyright by stressing both in German
      never become a common currency, if only  power =   Quantity.                      and in English that 'no part of this book may
      because the key to their understanding  So, let us produce Quantities for once!'   be reproduced in any form by print, photo-
      would not be available. This sort of pre-  The Italian artist Bruno Munari also col-  print, microfilm or any other means without
      occupation does not necessarily represent  laborated on a Quadrat-print. This one  written permission from the publisher'.
      a conscious stance on the part of the  consists of white and red pages of high  The edition is 500.
      creators; it is simply remarkable because it  quality paper, which are of different sizes,   What is interesting here is that the idea is
      is an accomplished fact of which those on  some of them having been cut and others  enough. It isn't necessary to see the 250
      the receiving end are becoming increasing-  folded. 'But what are these "unreadable"  blank pages once you know that there are
      ly and frustratingly aware.              books?'—says the introduction in eight  250 blank pages. There is no extra informa-
       It is in this context that I want to mention a  languages—'They are books without words,  tion which the object itself conveys over and
      number of games and books—made, con-     books with pages cut in different manner,  above the idea. Once you know that there
      trived or designed in the past few years—  with pages of coloured paper. A book like  are a number of possibilities to be attained
      which belong to this esoteric category.   this is folded in this wrapper—by turning  by combining shapes of red and white
       I am not concerned here with the various  over the pages you can compose and de-  paper in the form of pages, the first com-
      objects which have some connexion with  compose many geometric patterns and, if  bination gives a fairly good idea as to the
      art and are extremely attractive, e.g.  you like you can put some of them under  scope and limitations of the object. It is
      puzzles made up of Jackson Pollock paint-  glass and change them later....'       simply not necessary to look right through
      ings, chess pieces by Man Ray, playing    Among other unreadable books is the one  the book. Somehow the books don't com-
      cards by Sonia Delaunay, or various puz-  by Manzoni which consists of layers of  municate enough, either as part of their
      zles, blocks and other three-dimensional   thick film material, which in such density   esotericism because the message is so
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