Measuring just 1 x 1.5 inches with a simple black slipcase, The Conquest of Space is an artist’s book by Marcel Broodthaers originally published in 1975 in an edition of 50 numbered copies. As Broodthaers’ last book, it embodies the artist’s sardonic sense of humor with its plays on language and function--the title references the historic use of atlases by militaries for territorial conquests, but printed at such a miniature scale, it is unusable for its intended function. Furthering the level of intrigue with the book, Broodthaers did not follow established geographical organization, choosing rather to present only a small selection of countries organized alphabetically and graphically represented in identical size. This facsimile edition makes the artist’s book available again for the first time since the original printing in a limited edition of 500 copies.
Marcel Broodthaers (1924–76) worked as a poet and critic until the age of 40, when he declared himself a visual artist. Over the next 12 years, he moved between Brussels, his birth city, and Düsseldorf and London. From 1968 to 1972 Broodthaers operated the Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles, an itinerant museum devoted to the exploration of the role of the institution itself and the function of art in society.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Artcritical
David Carrier
a marvelous posthumous revelation of the reach of Broodthaers’s idea.
Originally published in an edition of 50, Marcel Broodthaers' slip-cased, fully-illustrated 1x1.5-inch paperback, The Conquest of Space: Atlas for the Use of Artists and the Military, was the artist's last book, created one year before his death in 1976. This new facsimile from The Museum of Modern Art, published in a limited edition of just 500 copies, makes this super-collectible artist's book available for the first time since the original printing in 1975. Available alongside 46 other rare Broodthaers titles and limited editions at our Frieze Pop-up Bookstore, this tiny enigma comes in a 6x6-inch, clothbound magnetized clamshell box with padded insert and red ribbon pull. continue to blog
May 5-8, visit ARTBOOK and Koenig Books at Frieze New York! Since the inaugural fair in 2012, ARTBOOK and Koenig have collaborated on the fair bookstore, bringing hundreds of new and normally unavailable titles by container ship direct from Europe and sourcing other classic and rare titles from the far corners of the United States. Our pop-up bookstore presents over 1000 monographs, exhibition catalogs, theory titles and more, alongside a tantalizing selection of rare books, signed copies and limited editions including 47 rare Broodthaers titles and editions and 22 rare books and editions by Fischli & Weis - including a first edition signed and numbered copy of '"Indigenous Forest Floor / Suddenly This Overview' with unique hand-fired clay sculpture. As it was last year, our store is located at the Southern entrance to the fair, near the VIP lounge. Scroll down for information about signings with Sarah Sze, Sam Moyer, Goshka Macuga, Eileen Myles, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. LIMITED EDITIONS & BOOK SPECIALS - ONLY FOR FRIEZE NEW YORK
FORMAT: Pbk, 1 x 1.5 in. / 38 pgs / 38 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $175.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $235 ISBN: 9781633450110 PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art, New York AVAILABLE: 2/23/2016 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: SDNR30 PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Marcel Broodthaers: The Conquest of Space Atlas for the Use of Artists and the Military
Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Measuring just 1 x 1.5 inches with a simple black slipcase, The Conquest of Space is an artist’s book by Marcel Broodthaers originally published in 1975 in an edition of 50 numbered copies. As Broodthaers’ last book, it embodies the artist’s sardonic sense of humor with its plays on language and function--the title references the historic use of atlases by militaries for territorial conquests, but printed at such a miniature scale, it is unusable for its intended function. Furthering the level of intrigue with the book, Broodthaers did not follow established geographical organization, choosing rather to present only a small selection of countries organized alphabetically and graphically represented in identical size.
This facsimile edition makes the artist’s book available again for the first time since the original printing in a limited edition of 500 copies.
Marcel Broodthaers (1924–76) worked as a poet and critic until the age of 40, when he declared himself a visual artist. Over the next 12 years, he moved between Brussels, his birth city, and Düsseldorf and London. From 1968 to 1972 Broodthaers operated the Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles, an itinerant museum devoted to the exploration of the role of the institution itself and the function of art in society.
