About the event

At the event "We keep on fighting... – Two collectors, two concepts of the true artist's book" accompanying the exhibition "Showcase – Artists' books from the collection of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek", Hubert Kretschmer and Reinhard Grüner give an extensive insight into their work and activities. They will discuss the artist's book today, placing a focus on the important tasks that will keep collectors like them occupied also in the future.

Hubert Kretschmer

The "Archive Artist Publications" (AAP) 1980 was founded by the publisher, artist and art educator Hubert Kretschmer in Munich. Currently, it encompasses several ten thousand "items": journals, books, stamps, zines, multiples, posters, mail art, sound recordings and much more, published or designed by artists. Over 23,000 items can currently be searched in the OPAC (www.artistbooks.de). In contrast to classical collections of book art, the AAP concentrates on publications which were partly produced with very simple means, or where the focus is on the idea of communication and not on skilled workmanship. The exhibits are displayed at internal and external exhibitions, can be borrowed and consulted in the archive for educational purposes. The collection of the AAP is continuously expanded by purchases and generous donations.

http://www.artistbooks.de/

Reinhard Grüner

Reinhard Grüner is a self-confessed bibliomaniac, who has collected artists' books in the form of small print runs or unique copies since 3 May 1976. His particular interest focuses on artists' books published after 1960, among them i.a. works by pop-art artists such as Andy Warhol, and artists' books from the time of the fall of the Berlin wall, by Carsten and Olaf Nicolai, Ekkeland Götze and Moritz Götze. A further emphasis is on artists' books from Russia, for example by Michail Karasik, Julia Kissina and Sergej Yakunin. He is interested in modern developments of the artists' book as well, such as books by Daniel Knorr, Markus Lüpertz and Gerhard Multerer. Together with his wife Cornelia, who collects owls, the collector lives in a book cavern in which the books have taken over control by now. To allow for a breather, he sends his works of art on paper repeatedly to exhibitions at museums, art galleries, castles, libraries and federal ministries.

For further information please go to his website at:
http://www.buchkunst.info/

Information overview