With works by Gerry Bibby, Everyone Agrees, Richard Hawkins, Jacqueline de Jong, Pierre Klossowski, Chris Kraus, Ben Rosenthal, Josef Strau, Anne Turyn, Peter Wächtler, Bendicht Walthert, Annette Wehrmann and Seyoung Yoon.

And a selection of books by Michèle Bernstein, Tina Braegger, Leonora Carrington, Martin Disler, Lucy McKenzie & Alan Michael, Ariane Müller, Seth Price, Dieter Roth, Reena Spaulings, Dena Yago, Unica Zürn, and others.

Many artists consider writing part of their work, they engage with various text formats, such as the novel, the short story, poetry, or art criticism. Section Littéraire presents a selection of artworks containing or connected to texts, as well as artist’s literature. The exhibition brings together works by artists who regard writing and visual representation to be equal practices that enrich or even depend upon each other. Though not a new phenomenon, artist’s writing has received increased visibility in the art world in recent years, entailing many a debate: Time and again notions of the role of the artist are opposed to that of the writer, the word to the image, the “discursive” to the “intuitive-personal”. No doubt such definitions are required when dealing with these texts, but the fact that many artists treat conventions of genre and style loosely – adopting them as deceptive surfaces and often pursuing ‘improper’ forms of writing – means that classifications are often restricted and can be restrictive. It is less a matter of direct expression than of taking up linguistic forms and conventions on a meta-level. Written language can expand but also deliberately limit artistic practices and the finding of visual forms.

“Writing” can be many a thing. It can be texts composed from other texts, or simply appropriated writing of others. The pace of electronic correspondence and the accelerated information flow have surely altered our conception of what a text can be and where writing takes place. What still exists alongside immediate manifestations forgoing any form of intimacy, is writing as a slow, often secluded process that requires time and possibly the isolation of the writer. Discounting the romantic perception of the writer in a silent chamber somewhere would ignore a dynamic that is just as vital as the realism of typing a sentence of a novel into a mobile phone while waiting for the train to arrive.

The immateriality of the written word also raises the question as to what kind of commodity is produced. Or: Do written forms of expression allow for an autonomy from expectations and demands that come with making sellable objects? When artists publish their texts in books or write novels, it can be seen as a certain freedom, a way of bypassing the potential marketability of the “art-object”. On closer consideration one discovers a wide range of texts stretching from the bestseller to the object as a supplement of the text. It would be too easy to assume that text-based works stand outside or in parallel to the circulation of visual works. Merely an aura of intellectuality of the writer can heighten the cultural capital of objects. Nevertheless, the idea of a shift in production conditions through writing remains an interesting one.

As much as the works in the exhibition may differ, what they have in common is the application of fiction in text and image to reflect upon personal as well as social themes. Own experiences are intertwined with political issues or theory, history and memory are processed or alternative scenarios imagined. Fictionalization is employed to shift, distort or sharpen. The visual work is often based on what is written, or vice-versa: A fragmented narration linking the two.

Curated by Valérie Knoll and Geraldine Tedder

Image: Annette Wehrmann, Ort des Gegen, 2002