Liam Gillick: Proxemics Selected Essays, 1988-2006

by Liam Gillick (Artist), Lionel Bovier (Editor)

No less versatile in his writing than in his installations, films, architecture and sculpture, Liam Gillick unites his critical essays in this collection, most of which were originally printed in art magazines or exhibition catalogues. Lauded for his ingenious reinterpretation of Conceptual and Minimalist art, Liam Gillick has often used language, whether in type on a wall or on a page, as a site of artistic, theoretical and political intervention. He reveals himself here as a witness of and major actor in the largely European 1990s art scene that included Philippe Parreno, Pierre Huyghe, Carsten Höller, Angela Bulloch, Douglas Gordon and Rirkrit Tiravanija. A key publication of discussions, references, and artistic engagements of the 1990s, the book also allows an examination of the renewed importance at this time of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, John Baldessari and Allen Ruppersberg.

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The articles in this book start out friendly enough, dealing with a host of medium related problems in an intelligent article format, throughout the book however gillick's own specific interests come more and more into whats written, which although is where things start to really get interesting it is also, where things get a bit confusing.

One thing that really surprised me having not really read any Gillick before, is his readiness to play with the format of the article, including narrative, critique and dialogue to point that might be seen as uncharacteristically playful. My respect for Liam Gillick from reading this book has increased no end, his influence on art and artists is surely something that has been massively underrated, it's just a shame that every art student that tries to copy him ends up inflicting some art they don't want to do on an audience that don't want it.

I still don't think that is necessary to be socially responsible as an artist, but Liam Gillick makes it seem like someting that might be fun and positive and above all interesting and absorbing.