Aa Bronson: My Life in Books; BAS

Thursday 13.01.2011, 6.00 pm, Cezayir

Since December 2009 we have been developing a series of talks and exhibitions at BAS, in order to focus on the historical and critical context of artists’ books and printed matter.

An exhibition of artists’ books by Sol LeWitt was followed by a talk by Antoni Muntadas, an archival exhibition of work by KORIDOR (1988 – 1995) and a discussion with the members of this mail art collective from Istanbul. As the forth event of this series, BAS is very pleased and proud to host AA Bronson, an artist and a healer from New York City.

From 1969 through 1994 AA Bronson lived and worked as one of the three artists who formed the group General Idea, dividing his time between Toronto and New York. For 25 years General Idea published a continuous stream of more than 300 low-cost multiples and publications. From 1972 through 1989 they published the artists’ magazine FILE, and in 1974 they founded Art Metropole, a distribution center and archive for artists’ books. Since his partner’s death in 1994, AA Bronson has worked under his own name, focusing on themes of death, healing, transformation, and social justice. His solo exhibitions included the Vienna Secession, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Power Plant, Toronto. As the director of Printed Matter from 2004 to 2010, AA Bronson greatly expanded the activities of this centre for artists’ books in New York. He founded the NY Art Book Fair in 2006. He has also curated many exhibitions, especially of artists’ books and other democratic editions. His exhibition “Queer Zines” was presented at the 2008 NY Art Book Fair and traveled from there to OCA in Oslo.

At My Life in Books, AA will talk about the publications by General Idea, FILE magazine, Art Metropole, and his recent experiences at Printed Matter, inc.

The talk will take place at Cezayir at 18.00, on January 13, 2011 and will be in English.