Detail from Andy Warhol's Green Car Crash (1963), as reproduced in the exhibition catalogue from his early show with Gian Enzo Sperone (Turin, 1965). See number 20 below.

Harper's Books: July Selections

A late-monthly list of books, ephemera, and prints relating to art, photography, and subculture. Click the links for additional images and purchasing. And please note our Summer Hours: Tuesday through Friday (11-6) at our Chelsea bookshop (504 W. 22nd St.) and daily (10-6) at our East Hampton gallery.

1. ACKERMANN, Rita

Rita Ackermann

New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2011. First Edition. Quarto (224 pages). Ackermann's largest monograph to date. Reproducing the early New York works from the first two decades of her career; accompanied by essays from critics Bonnie Clearwater, Felix Ensslin, John Kelsey, an interview with Harmony Korine, and a foreword from artist Josh Smith. A fine copy in illustrated boards, in fine illustrated jacket; uncommon.

$300.00

2. ANDRE, Carl

Carl Andre (Announcement Card)

New York: Dwan Gallery, 1969. Announcement card (5 x 7.25 inches), printed recto only, from Carl Andre's second exhibition at Virginia Dwan's New York gallery (Apr. 26 - May 21, 1969). Illustrated after Andre's recurring sculptural motif of the periodic table, in the same year that the 104th element was claimed. A remarkably crisp copy, with minor scuffing; near fine.

$250.00

3. BACON, Francis

Francis Bacon: Late Paintings

New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2015. First Edition. Quarto. Published on the occasion of an exhibition at Gagosian, New York (Nov. 7 - Dec. 12, 2015); the first comprehensive exploration of Bacon’s late work, focused on two dozen paintings that he created in London and Paris during the last decades of his life. Richly illustrated in color, with a series of insightful essays from Richard Calvocoressi, Colm Tóibin, Richard Francis, Mark Stevens, and Eddy Batache, as well as excerpts from a series of select interviews with Bacon. A fine copy in vibrantly illustrated boards.

$200.00

4. BAYNARD, Ed (curator) / Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jane Dickson, Keith Haring, David Hockney, David Wojnarowicz, et al

Fast (Exhibition Catalogue)

New York: Alexander F. Milliken Inc., 1982. First Edition. Small quarto (28 pages). Exhibition catalogue from a panoramic group show curated by the artist Ed Baynard at Milliken Gallery in SoHo (Jun. 11 - Jul. 15, 1982); "I chose the word Fast as an umbrella title because Fast seems (to me) the opposite of apathy. Fast is passion made concrete." Featuring works from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, Jane Dickson, Richard Hambleton, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Anselm Kiefer, David Salle, and David Wojnarowicz, amongst others; Wojnarowicz later identifying his portrait of Peter Hujar (Diptych) as his "first bonafide painting." Some fading to wrappers at spine, with minor scuffing and edge-wear. A better than very good copy of a catalogue that's uncommon to the trade, with just over a dozen OCLC records located in North America.

$750.00

5. HAMMONS, David

David Hammons is On Our Mind

San Francisco: CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, 2018. First Edition. Quarto. Published in an edition of 750 copies, this monograph is the culmination of a year-long series of meetings and events at the Wattis Institute dedicated to the work of David Hammons. Featuring transcriptions of a 1994 lecture by Hammons and a 2017 lecture by Fred Moten, as well as a poem from Tongo Eisen-Martin. Illustrated with Hammons' own photographs. Fine in cloth boards, in fine illustrated jacket.

$450.00

6. LAWLER, Louise and Janelle Reiring

[Untitled, Black/White]

New York: Self-published, 1978. Artist's book. Duodecimo. One of two intertwined bookworks self-published by Louise Lawler in 1978; their titles supplied by a supplementary postcard that Lawler printed (Two Books Have Been Published). Black/White offers an adaptation of an unfilmed screenplay from Metro Pictures co-founder Janelle Reiring, dramatizing the 1917 execution of the exotic dancer/alleged spy Mata Hari in France. For both publications, Lawler worked with the same conceit: printing two distinct prices for the edition, with each copy having one of the two options circled; in this instance, the more expensive price is selected ($100). Minor scuffing to illustrated wrappers; near fine. Uncommon, with a dozen OCLC records located.

$1000.00

7. LAWLER, Louise

[Untitled, Red/Blue]

New York: Self-published, 1978. Artist's Book. Duodecimo. Two volumes. Published in the same year as another untitled bookwork from Lawler (known as Black/White), this two volume set carries the same conceit; although all copies from the edition were theoretically identical, some were priced at $7.95 and some at $100, as per the stamped circle to the front endpaper. (This set priced at $7.95). Often referred to as Lawler's "card books," each volume of Red/Blue is illustrated with the uniform versos of 26 playing cards—for a total of 52, reproduced in black-and-white—with the suit and number for each card speculatively captioned beneath. Overall, a close to near fine set, with pencil notation to first page and marginal handling to a few pages; minor rubbing to color wrappers. Uncommon, especially complete, with fewer than a dozen OCLC records located in North America.

$1850.00

8. MACIUNAS, George and Jackson Mac Low

Bread& AG Present: Literary Evenings... (Announcement Cards)

New York: AG Gallery, [1961]. Two announcement cards—both oblong (4 x 11.5 in. and 3.5 x 10.5 in.) and printed rectos-only—for events held at George Maciunas' Manhattan gallery (Mar. 14 - Jun. 30, 1961), co-organized with Frank Kuenstler of Bread& magazine. While seven of the eight announced evenings are decidedly literary—with readings from Tuli Kupferberg, Diane di Prima, and LeRoi Jones—the final event ("New Poetry of Jackson Mac Low") places Maciunas in a new timeline, hosting a proto-Fluxus concert: "Sound, song, noise, measure, voice, line, re-investigated by soloists & ensemble. Poetry as occurrence & body. Diane Wakoski, La Monte Young, Iris Lezak as well as the author will present the works." This card boldly illustrated with a b&w portrait of Mac Low wearing an exaggerated stovepipe hat. Minor edge-wear to cards, with minimal toning; overall near fine. Rare, with no OCLC records located for either; Fondazione Bonotto only preserves the first of these cards.

$1750.00

9. MACIUNAS, George

Fluxus (Prospectus for Fluxus Yearboxes, Version A)

Wiesbaden: Fluxus, 1962. First Issue. Small quarto (4 pp.). Fleeing debts from his Manhattan art gallery, George Maciunas found work as a graphic designer with the U.S. Air Force in Wiesbaden, Germany. From this perch, Maciunas would organize a European concert tour (1962-1963) featuring the artists with whom he hoped to launch an avant-garde magazine: George Brecht, Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Nam June Paik, Benjamin Patterson, Emmett Williams, Wolf Vostell. At the first of these concerts, at Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal (Après John Cage), Maciunas would boldly publicize the name of this project—Fluxus—along with proposed tables of contents for seven Fluxus Yearboxes; regionally themed, with some surprise names included (such as Theodor Adorno for the German & Scandinavian installment). The first page of the prospectus reproduces the dictionary definitions of "flux" that famously inspired Maciunas toward the name; beginning with "a flowing or fluid discharge from the bowels or other part..." This being the first state of the brochure, printed to orange sheets. (Silverman < 541.I, ff). This copy purportedly belonging to Editorial Committee member Jackson Mac Low, with his pencil annotation to final page, adding Hadeishi Nobuyuki to the Japanese issue. Faint vertical crease to prospectus (as though folded for mailing); contents now loose from staples—nonetheless, a better than very good copy of a scarce document; with only single OCLC record located in North America (Princeton).

$1250.00

10. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert

Contact: Robert Mapplethorpe at the Robert Miller Gallery (Announcement)

New York: Robert Miller Gallery, [1979]. Announcement for an exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs at Robert Miller Gallery (Mar. 21 - Apr. 12, 1979). With postcard (7 x 5 inches) featuring a reproduction of Mapplethorpe's portrait of Frank Diaz (Contact, 1979) printed within gold metallic border; housed within printed glassine sleeve, along with a supplementary announcement for the publication of Mapplethorpe's two infamous portfolios—X and Y—co-published between Robert Miller, Harry Lunn (Washington), and Robert Self (London) in editions of 25 copies. Some tarnishing to margins of main card, with minor foxing to glassine envelope; better than very good.

$175.00

11. MURAKAMI, Takashi

Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture (Inscribed with Drawing)

New York: Japan Society / New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. First Edition. Thick quarto. A cultural primer created by Takashi Murakami as part of an ambitious exhibition of contemporary Japanese art and culture co-organized by the Japan Society and Public Art Fund throughout New York City (Apr. 8 - Jul. 24, 2005). "Little Boy, as a title for the exhibition, recasts the horrendously cynical name given to the atomic bomb that was detonated over Hiroshima in 1945 and captures the critical distance of contemporary Japanese artists from the child-like bubble of modern Japanese marketing. That the impotence of postwar Japan has found its outlet, half a century later, in an eroticized graphic identity and infantilized culture is Murkami's most dramatic conclusion." This copy INSCRIBED by Murakami at end of the acknowledgments section, with trademark flower drawing. Fine copy in glossy illustrated boards. Housed in custom clamshell case with leather lettering piece to spine.

$850.00

12. PANTER, Gary and Mark Beyer

Panter versus Beyer

[Liancourt, France]: CBO Éditions, 2003. Limited Edition. Folio. Hand-numbered as no. 90 of 100 copies to rear cover. A punchy duet between post-underground cartoonists Gary Panter and Mark Beyer, fully-illustrated with twenty pages of bold screenprints; Panter's contributions being mostly 2 pp. compositions. Minor crease to lower margin of rear cover, else near fine. Scarce, with single OCLC record located in Germany.

$750.00

13. PETTIBON, Raymond

Freud's Universe (Signed)

Lawndale, CA: SST Pubs, 1982. First Edition. Octavo. SIGNED by Pettibon in red marker to lower margin of front panel and hand-numbered as copy 150 (of 500). One of Raymond Pettibon's earliest zines, featuring 28 depraved vignettes on romance. Captioned to the rear panel: "Freud's Universe: What drives a man to cruelty, murder—and desperate love? B.P. (Before Pettibon) I didn't believe in a God. Surely Pettibon has created his own universe—one distressingly similar to mine." Includes mimeographed centerfold catalogue for Pettibon's other SST publications; both zines and posters. (Koch & Ohrt 4). Very minor spotting to margins of covers; near fine.

$1250.00

14. SAINT-PHALLE, Niki de

Niki de Saint Phalle: New Sculptures

New York: Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer Gallery, 1990. First Edition. Octavo. Leporello booklet of seven postcards (8 x 5.5 in.) with perforated edges; each with uniform versos. A charming catalogue for a 1990 exhibition of Niki de Saint-Phalle's sculptures at the Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer gallery in New York. Featuring six designs: the fool, the prophet, Arizona cactus (twice), the hanged man, and the godess Taweret. Also featuring a collaborative drawing with Jean Tinguely: "Rotating flower pots on top of head." A version of The Fool would be installed in Saint-Phalle's Tarot Garden in Grossetto the following year, which was also the year of Tinguely's death. Bright and crisp copy, with minor rubbing to edges; near fine. Uncommon, with single OCLC record showing in North America.

$300.00

15. SCHNEEMANN, Carolee

Carolee Schneemann: Kinetic Painting (Inscribed)

Salzburg: Museum der Moderne / Munich: Prestel, 2015. First Edition. Quarto. An impressive catalogue published on the occasion of the Carolee Schneemann retrospective at the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg (Nov. 21, 2015 - Feb. 28, 2016). Thoroughly illustrated and organized according to formal/chronological sections (e.g. paintings, boxes, assemblages, performances, cinema, etc). This copy INSCRIBED to half-title page: "To Matt / from Carolee / PS1 / Feb 2018." Minor rubbing to illustrated boards; near fine.

$350.00

16. SPOERRI, Daniel

Topographie Anécdotée du Hasard (Inscribed with Original Typescript)

Paris: Editions Galerie Lawrence, [1962]. First Edition. Octavo. One of the "Original" copies of Daniel Spoerri's pioneering chance-narrative, which he gifted to friends and associates; this copy (no. 55) playfully INSCRIBED by Spoerri to Bazon Brock, who was attempting to translate the Topographie into German. This copy also accompanied by an original typescript ("Développement du Tableau-Piège") dated December 20, 1961; an early variant of one of Spoerri's Nouveau Realiste manifestos. Ghosting from tape to printed wrappers; interior nonetheless fresh with robust binding. Includes original bright-yellow publisher's band, with tape repairs, featuring celebratory text from Pierre Restany. Despite its flaws: a remarkable association copy of this landmark work.

$2500.00

17. SPRÜTH, Monika / Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Rosemarie Trockel

Eau de Cologne (Exhibition Poster)

Köln: Monika Sprüth Galerie, 1985. Exhibition poster (23 x 16.5) announcing the first of three all-female exhibitions at Monika Sprüth Galerie (Nov. 15 - Dec. 12, 1985), featuring works from Ina Barfuss, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Rosemarie Trockel, and Anne Loch. The exhibition also served as the launch for the first number of Sprüth's corresponding artist's magazine, with matching cursive title. Save for faint foldlines, a remarkably well-preserved copy; close to fine.

$450.00

18. TROCKEL, Rosemarie

R. Trockel: Skulptur + Zeichnung (Exhibition Poster)

Köln: Galerie Monika Spruth, 1984. An elegant poster from Rosemarie Trockel's second exhibition of sculptures and drawings at Monika Sprüth (May 3 - Jun. 30, 1984). Broadsheet (24 x 17.75 inches) printed to newsprint, with invitation to vernissage printed to recto. Save for some minor scuffing and faint foldlines, a remarkably well-preserved copy; near fine.

$450.00

19. TWOMBLY, Cy (cover design)

Plus No. 3 (Hiver 1959-1960)

Bruxelles, 1959. First Edition. Quarto (30 pages, plus adverts). Third and final issue of the international artist's magazine Plus, with original cover design commissioned from Cy Twombly. Contents include contributions by or about Lucio Fontana, Octavio Paz, Mao Zedung, Michel Butor, Mano Millares, Serge Vandercam, Christian Dotremont, Simon Vinkenoog, and Achille Perilli, with a concrete poem by Armand Gatti included as loose insert ("Le Feu et ses pièces à conviction"). Design for this issue by Dotremont. Marginal toning to illustrated wrappers, with minor creasing to rear panel, else near fine.

$350.00

20. WARHOL, Andy

Warhol: 20 febbraio 1965

Torino: Gian Enzo Sperone, 1965. First Edition. Octavo. Folding catalogue from one of Andy Warhol's earliest European shows, at Gian Enzo Sperone's gallery in Turin (Feb. 1965); printed to glossy card stock and folded into eight asymmetrical panels (7.5 inches tall). Illustrated with b&w reproductions of four of Warhol's works from 1963: Green Car Crash, White Car Crash, Bellevue, and Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. Brown. Accompanied by full-panel text from art critic Luigi Carluccio (in Italian). Some scuffing, with rubbing to edges; overall, close to near fine. Scarce, with single OCLC record discovered in North America.

$1000.00

21. WARHOL, Andy et al

Amerikanische Zeichner des 20. Jahrhunderts - Drei Generation von der Armory Show bis Heute (Announcement) 

Baden-Baden: Staatliche Kunsthalle, 1976. Trifold announcement card (4 x 8.25 inch panels, unfolding to 24.75 inches long). A creatively designed announcement for an exhibition of twentieth century American artists, sponsored by the U.S. Ambassador to Germany at the Kunsthalle of Baden-Baden (May 26 - Jul. 11, 1976). With three generations of names—"from the Armory Show to today"—replacing the stars on the American flag: e.g. Stuart Davis, Marcel Duchamp, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Man Ray / Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, Joseph Cornell, Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, and Jackson Pollock / Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol. Minor edge-wear; near fine. Preserved folded.

$300.00

22. WESSEL, Henry

Henry Wessel (Signed) 

Göttingen: Steidl, 2007. First Edition. Quarto. SIGNED by Wessel to the half-title page in blue ink. Published on the occasion of a retrospective of Henry Wessel's photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Jan. 27 - Apr. 22, 2007). With 133 full-page reproductions, some color, surveying Wessel's observational work from the 1960s through the early aughts; introduced by essays from Sandra S. Phillips and Georg Imdahl, and a short poem from William Carlos Williams. Minor scuffing to textblock edge, else near fine in cloth boards. Photo-illustrated jacket with some waving, else near fine.

$450.00

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