Kirjahaku

Question the Wall Itself examines ways that interior spaces and décor can be fundamental to the understanding of cultural identity. It showcases 23 international artists who explore the political and social dimensions of interior architecture as well as its complicated relationship to history and their own backgrounds. The featured artists are Jonathas de Andrade, Uri Aran, Nina Beier, Marcel Broodthaers, Tom Burr, Alejandro Cesarco, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Theaster Gates, Ull Hohn, Janette Laverrière, Louise Lawler, Nick Mauss, Park McArthur, Lucy McKenzie, Shahryar Nashat, Walid Raad, Seth Siegelaub, Paul Sietsema, Florine Stettheimer, Rosemarie Trockel, Cerith Wyn Evans, Danh Vo and Akram Zaatari. The book and the exhibition it accompanies take as its guiding principle what Marcel Broodthaers termed “esprit décor”: a critique of ideas of nationality, globalization and the space of the institution through constructed interior scenes. Recasting our conception of interior space and design, the featured works exist between art, prop, and set or stage. Espousing this mise-en-scène approach, Question the Wall Itself plugs readers into material that expands the show in the form of book-as-exhibition. It includes an extensive photographic walk-through of the installations, and essays by Jordan Carter, Adrienne Edwards, Isla Leaver-Yap, Fionn Meade, and Robert Wiesenberger, as well as contributions from participating artists.

“Jason Moran [is] shaping up to be the most provocative thinker in current jazz.” —Rolling Stone This is the first in-depth publication to investigate the practice of pianist, composer and visual artist Jason Moran, whose work bridges the fields of visual arts and performing arts. As a “torchbearer for jazz,” Moran challenges traditional forms of musical composition; his experimental works merge object and sound, underscoring the theatricality of both mediums. Moran—who often collaborates with prominent visual artists such Joan Jonas, Stan Douglas, Lorna Simpson and Glenn Ligon—pushes beyond the conventions of sculpture and the concert stage while continuing to embrace the essential tenets of jazz and improvisation. This volume, published in conjunction with the Walker Art Center’s 2018 exhibition, considers the artist’s practice and his collaborative works as interdisciplinary investigations that further the fields of experimental jazz and visual art. It features essays by curators, artists, musicians and art historians, plus an interview and photo essay by Moran. These are supplemented by sections documenting the creation of Moran’s mixed-media “set sculptures” including STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, STAGED: Three Deuces (both 2015) and STAGED: Slugs (2018). This is an essential volume for anyone interested in the intersection of contemporary art and music. Jason Moran was born in Houston, Texas, in 1975, and received a BM from the Manhattan School of Music in 1997. He joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory in 2010. In 2014, was named artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He was a 2015 Grammy nominee for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for ALL RISE: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller, and he composed his first feature film score for Selma (2014), directed by Ava DuVernay.

Dolores Soldevilla Nieto was a passionate Cuban artist whose career blossomed in the 1950s. Following early professional turns, she emerged later in life as a prolific artist and fervent advocate for culture. She became Cuba’s cultural attaché to Europe, embarking on a path that would dramatically alter the course of her life and the discourse surrounding Cuban abstraction at mid-century. Residing in Paris, she studied in the ateliers of prominent European and American artists, and, after returning to Cuba, she played an active role as a vital link between the European avant-garde and the new voices of abstraction emerging throughout Latin America and Cuba. Loló Soldevilla: Constructing Her Universe is the first monograph devoted to her remarkable achievements, providing compelling insight into the life and work of this exceptional artist.