Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Multiplied
Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art, 1959–1965
1st Edition
9780936316475
Distributed for Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Multiplied
Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art, 1959–1965
1st Edition
In 1959, Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri pioneered an inventive new series of artist-created editioned multiples to be broadly distributed. While artists have long created editioned multiples of artworks—from prints and handmade books to sculptures—Spoerri’s project placed a radical focus on multiplication and movement. His Edition MAT (Multiplication d’art transformable) presented a selection of works by key figures in postwar kinetic and Op art, including an array of artworks that could be manipulated, moved, and altered optically, electrically, or through physical interaction.
Multiplied is the first in-depth English-language study of this seminal project in the history of kinetic and postwar art. The catalog presents the entirety of Edition MAT’s three collections—from 1959, 1964, and 1965—that together consist of forty-nine artworks by thirty-five European, North American, and Latin American artists, including leading figures such as Marcel Duchamp, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Dieter Roth, Jesús Rafael Soto, and Jean Tinguely, alongside lesser-known artists. With three essays, artwork entries, and an appendix of newly translated historical texts, this volume sheds light on under-studied artworks as well as the body of critical thought connecting art, commerce, and display in the postwar period.
Multiplied is the first in-depth English-language study of this seminal project in the history of kinetic and postwar art. The catalog presents the entirety of Edition MAT’s three collections—from 1959, 1964, and 1965—that together consist of forty-nine artworks by thirty-five European, North American, and Latin American artists, including leading figures such as Marcel Duchamp, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Dieter Roth, Jesús Rafael Soto, and Jean Tinguely, alongside lesser-known artists. With three essays, artwork entries, and an appendix of newly translated historical texts, this volume sheds light on under-studied artworks as well as the body of critical thought connecting art, commerce, and display in the postwar period.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Sabine Eckmann, William T. Kemper Director and Chief Curator
Preface and Acknowledgments
Meredith Malone, Associate Curator
Introduction
Meredith Malone
Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art: A History
Meredith Malone
Consumed by Play: The Politics of the Transformable Work of Art
Ágnes Berecz
“Lured Out of Passive Enjoyment”: Edition MAT at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld
Magdalena Holzhey
Catalog
Samuel Adams (SA)
Marina Isgro (MI)
Alexander Kauffman (AK)
Meredith Malone (MMA)
Molly Moog (MMO)
Collection 1959
Yaacov Agam (MMA)
Joseph Albers (MMA)
BO EK (MMA)
Pol Bury (MI)
Marcel Duchamp (AK)
Karl Gerstner (MMA)
Heinz Mack (MI)
Frank Malina (MMA)
Enzo Mari (MI)
Bruno Munari (MI)
Man Ray (AK)
Dieter Roth (SA)
Jesús Raphael Soto (MI)
Jean Tinguely (MI)
Victor Vasarely (MMA)
Collection 1964
Arman (MI)
Hans Arp (MI)
Arnulf Rainer (MMO)
Niki de Saint Phalle (MI)
Daniel Spoerri (SA)
Paul Talman (MI)
Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé (MMA)
Collection 1965
Enrico Baj (MI)
Davide Boriani (MI)
George Brecht (SA)
Christo (MMA)
Gabriele de Vecchi (MI)
Robert Filliou (SA)
Maurice Henry (MMO)
Julio Le Parc (MMA)
Roy Lichtenstein (MI)
Christian Megert (MI)
François Morellet (MI)
André Thomkins (SA)
Emmett Williams (SA)
Appendix
“Examples of Dynamic Theatre” (excerpt; 1959)
Claus Bremer and Daniel Spoerri
“Edition MAT: Multiplication of Artworks” (1959)
Daniel Spoerri
“The Multiplied Work of Art” (1960)
Daniel Spoerri
Edition MAT Press Release (1964)
Galerie Der Spiegel
Edition MAT Press Release (1965)
Galerie Der Spiegel
“What Should Art Cost?” (excerpt; 1965)
Karl Gerstner
“MAT: A Conversation with Spoerri and Gerstner” (1970)
Wies Smals
“Interview with Daniel Spoerri” (1995; excerpt)
Katerina Vatsella
Index
Checklist of the Exhibition
Supplemental Illustrations
Photography Credits
Contributors
Colophon
Sabine Eckmann, William T. Kemper Director and Chief Curator
Preface and Acknowledgments
Meredith Malone, Associate Curator
Introduction
Meredith Malone
Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art: A History
Meredith Malone
Consumed by Play: The Politics of the Transformable Work of Art
Ágnes Berecz
“Lured Out of Passive Enjoyment”: Edition MAT at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld
Magdalena Holzhey
Catalog
Samuel Adams (SA)
Marina Isgro (MI)
Alexander Kauffman (AK)
Meredith Malone (MMA)
Molly Moog (MMO)
Collection 1959
Yaacov Agam (MMA)
Joseph Albers (MMA)
BO EK (MMA)
Pol Bury (MI)
Marcel Duchamp (AK)
Karl Gerstner (MMA)
Heinz Mack (MI)
Frank Malina (MMA)
Enzo Mari (MI)
Bruno Munari (MI)
Man Ray (AK)
Dieter Roth (SA)
Jesús Raphael Soto (MI)
Jean Tinguely (MI)
Victor Vasarely (MMA)
Collection 1964
Arman (MI)
Hans Arp (MI)
Arnulf Rainer (MMO)
Niki de Saint Phalle (MI)
Daniel Spoerri (SA)
Paul Talman (MI)
Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé (MMA)
Collection 1965
Enrico Baj (MI)
Davide Boriani (MI)
George Brecht (SA)
Christo (MMA)
Gabriele de Vecchi (MI)
Robert Filliou (SA)
Maurice Henry (MMO)
Julio Le Parc (MMA)
Roy Lichtenstein (MI)
Christian Megert (MI)
François Morellet (MI)
André Thomkins (SA)
Emmett Williams (SA)
Appendix
“Examples of Dynamic Theatre” (excerpt; 1959)
Claus Bremer and Daniel Spoerri
“Edition MAT: Multiplication of Artworks” (1959)
Daniel Spoerri
“The Multiplied Work of Art” (1960)
Daniel Spoerri
Edition MAT Press Release (1964)
Galerie Der Spiegel
Edition MAT Press Release (1965)
Galerie Der Spiegel
“What Should Art Cost?” (excerpt; 1965)
Karl Gerstner
“MAT: A Conversation with Spoerri and Gerstner” (1970)
Wies Smals
“Interview with Daniel Spoerri” (1995; excerpt)
Katerina Vatsella
Index
Checklist of the Exhibition
Supplemental Illustrations
Photography Credits
Contributors
Colophon