Christian Boltanski
First original maquette for: Les Modèles. Cinq relations entre texte et image., 1979
13454-BK
8 5/8 x 6 1/4 in. (22 x 16 cm)
Paris. (The artist). Sheets loose in a paper wrapper, with the title “première maquette†handwritten in blue pencil on front, and with
the artist’s pencil rendering of a buckle and strap closing mechanism.
Les Modèles was an artist's book/catalogue published by cheval d’attaque in 1979 on the occasion of Boltanski’s exhibition in the Maison de la Culture de Chalon-sur-Saone. In the published catalogue, five earlier book works by Boltanski were reprinted, with three having being published previously, whilst for the two other books, this was the first time they appeared in print.
The books reproduced in the catalogue were: Recherche et présentation de tout ce qui reste de mon enfance; Tout ce que je sais d'une femme qui est morte et que je n’ai pas connue; L’appartement de la rue de Vaugirard; 10 portraits photographiques de Christian Boltanski, 1946-1964; and Les Histoires.
Here is Boltanski’s first handmade maquette for Les Modèles consisting of 67 loose sheets, 22 x 16 cm format, and includes the handwritten titles and legends as well as all the original photographs that composed some of Boltanski's earliest artist books.
Collation as follows:
11 preliminary sheets, including handwritten half-title, title, and collaged publisher’s imprint;
Recherche et présentation de tout ce qui reste de mon enfance - handwritten title and 8 original silver print photographs (16.8 x 11 cm), cut and glue-mounted on sheets of Vidalon paper, each photograph framed in pen. ‘Recherche et présentation de tout ce qui reste de mon enfance’ was Boltanski’s first artist’s book, originally published in 1969 utilizing photocopies of the same photographs presented here in the maquette. The photographs include a class photo in which Boltanski features in the upper row, second from the left, a piece of his sweater, a shirt etc. In reality, several of these allegedly personal relics belonged mostly to his brothers and nephews;
Tout ce que je sais d'une femme qui est morte et que je n’ai pas connue - three preliminary leaves including handwritten title & 5 offset printed black-and-white photographic images pasted onto Vidalon sheets, handwritten numbering in pencil beneath. Originally self-published by Boltanski in 1970, these five images reproduce photos of an anonymous family (the photos had been given to Boltanski by the Colombian artist Luis Caballero, who had found them in his studio);
L’appartement de la rue de Vaugirard - preliminary leaf with handwritten title, blank leaf & 10 original silver print photographs (each 7 x 10 cm), cut and glue-mounted onto sheets of Vidalon paper, each sheet numbered in pencil. The photographs were taken from a film shot by Boltanski in an empty apartment on Rue de Vaugirard;
10 portraits photographiques de Christian Boltanski, 1946-1964 (originally published 1972) - two preliminary leaves, one with handwritten title, blank leaf & 9 original silver print photographs (each 14 x 9.8 cm), cut and glue-mounted onto sheets of Vidalon paper, each sheet numbered in pencil. With this series of photographs Boltanski in fact got strangers and friends’ children to pose, except for the last photo which is alleged to show the artist at the age of twenty, when he was in fact twenty-eight;
Les Histoires - two preliminary leaves, one with handwritten title, & 9 original silver print photographs (each 6.5 x 9 cm), cut and glue-mounted onto sheets of Vidalon paper. Each photograph framed in pen, and each sheet numbered in pencil. Here Boltanski utilizes a series of photographic images from a children’s story book, here presented devoid of the artist’s deadpan text captions which were to accompany each photograph in the final published version.
[Ref. Bob Calle - Christian Boltanski Artist’s Books 1969-2007, pp. 12, 16, 26/27, 30/31, 33 (original editions of the five books); p. 124 (reference for Les Modèles)].
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