THE POSSIBLE LIFE OF CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI - Rare Pristine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed by Christian Boltanski - SIGNED ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE

Boltanski, Christian (Artist/Author); Grenier, Catherine (Editor) & Sante, Luc (Contributor)

ISBN 10: 0878467467 / ISBN 13: 9780878467464

Published by Boston, MA: Museum Of Fine Art Publications, 2009, 2009

About this Item

1st Printing. Signed. 239 pages. Published in 2009. The artist's oral autobiography. One of the best art and photography books of our time. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. The title alludes to one of Christian Boltanski's masterpieces, "La Vie Impossible" ("The Impossible Life"). The book is beautifully produced, with a Preface by the culture critic Luc Sante (which appears in the American Edition only), a brilliant DJ design by Mark Polizzotti, vintage photographs appended at the center of the book, and a title page that is in continuous, "back-to-back" pages (instead of the usual single page or doublespread). Presents "The Possible Life of Christian Boltanski" in a felicitous English translation. His personal story, told entirely in the form of a series of Interviews conducted by Catherine Grenier. The beauty of Grenier's interview format is that it gives us Christian Boltanski's voice in all its acute particularity. His voice leaps off the page, resulting in a narrative that once began is impossible to put down: Intelligent, candid, and for admirers of his solemn installations and Artist Books, surprisingly and refreshingly humorous. "Christian Boltanski's votive installations, archives, and objects, revolving around the fragile polarities of memory and amnesia, identity and anonymity, have made him one of the world's most renowned contemporary artists. And yet, despite the centrality of biography and testimony to his work, Boltanski's own story is little-known and has never been fully told. He recounts his unusual wartime childhood, his career, friendships, marriage, successes, regrets, his approaches to art and teaching, and other matters that illuminate as never before his complex, enigmatic works" (Publisher's blurb). Now that he is (really) dead, the grief one feels for the vanished Life is somehow mitigated by the timeless beauty of the Art. An absolute "must-have" title for Christian Boltanski collectors. This Autographed Copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Christian Boltanski. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary art and photography classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. It is the single most beautiful copy we have ever seen. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest artists of the 20th century and our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0878467467.

Seller Inventory # 14864

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE POSSIBLE LIFE OF CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI - Rare Pristine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed by Christian Boltanski - SIGNED ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE
• Publisher: Boston, MA: Museum Of Fine Art Publications, 2009
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0878467467
• ISBN 13: 9780878467464
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New
• Signed: Signed by Author

About this title

Synopsis

Text by Christian Boltanski, Catherine Grenier. Preface by Luc Sante.

Product Description

The Possible Life of Christian Boltanski Text by Christian Boltanski, Catherine Grenier. Preface by Luc Sante.