Showcase – Artists' books from the collection of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Virtual review

Titled SHOWCASE, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek presents selected exhibits from its collection of artists' books, which has been expanded systematically since 1915, encompasses a large variety of topics and has today reached a top rank on an international level. SHOWCASE indicates the presentation of the books in glass cases that is characteristic of an exhibition in this library. The title likewise implies that these contemporary works of art are collected for the purpose of showing and browsing them, hence the part "show", but also within the meaning of a "case", exemplarily, in line with the targeted expansion of a collection that is special for an academic universal library.

SHOWCASE pursues the goal to effectively bring to bear the dynamism and multi-faceted expressiveness of these books, which are consciously chosen by artists as their form of expression. It illustrates the differences between the artists' approaches to using the medium of the book and the differences between their appearance, design, material and value. Books produced at low cost and as a mass product can be artists' books just like pricey books of a bibliophile appearance. With their ideas and new solutions, the artists also pursue further goals in addition to aesthetic value. They address society in a new language and with new forms of presentation, also pursuing political goals. Their urge to change is also expressed in the subculture of comics and zines.

Over 70 exhibits were presented in three exhibition rooms.

The virtual review gives an impression of the exhibition and the exhibits presented in the showcases.

In the center of the first room, the only specimen of "Song of Los" by William Blake available in Germany is reminiscent of the text author, image creator and printer of his own books, the early "godfather" of the artist's book. The motto of the room is a quote by Kruchenykh: "Books should be slim. No lies. Nothing frivolous." It presents 36 works, frequently of small format. The exhibition starts with around 15 books by the European avant-garde, starting with the Italian Futurists. With their lithographic booklets, the Russian Futurists broke new ground as of 1912, shattering all aesthetic stereotypes. They turned the book into an autonomous work of art for the first time. Among other things, typographic experiments, photo compositions, dadaistic and surrealistic books are shown. Against this background, the novelty created by the artists' books of the 1960s and 1970s becomes all the more visible.

The second room accommodates large-format, expensively produced works that were created predominantly in the course of the 1990s or 2000s. Its motto is a quote by Anselm Kiefer, inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé: "Everything in the world exists to flow into a book." The fundamental differences between the manifold types of artists' books become obvious here. Photographs, collages and the reuse of materials that the artist has come across frequently result in monumental, impressive works. The exhibition also features works by the Munich artist Katharina Gaenssler.

The third room is dominated by "flatware": Leporellos, portfolio works, posters, scrolls, record covers illustrate the diversity of media types. The first part is inspired by a quote by Stephen Dupont: "A new map of a new land." Here, works are gathered that have a socio-political objective, starting with the first work in which Picasso acts as author, illustrator, designer and editor in 1937, a political pamphlet against Franco and the war. Violations of human rights, slavery, racism, war and terror are addressed, expressed, protested against and branded in artists' books. A remark by Mike Kelley characterizes the second part: "Before I discovered the underground comics, I had never come across 'radical' or avant-garde art." "Ludo" by Keith Haring shows that street art had become respectable in 1985. The exhibition features comics, zines, an artist's booklet by Raymond Pettibon and "Maus" by Art Spiegelman, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Finally, in a showcase of its own, the view opens onto the work by Emil Siemeister created specially for this exhibition, with drawings on transparent plastic films executed in luminescent ink.