Fifty-Nine Positions (Hardcover)

Erwin Wurm

ISBN 10: 2492175332 / ISBN 13: 9782492175336

Published by RVB Books, Paris, 2023

About this Item

Hardcover. "59 Positions" is a 20-minute video, filmed in 1992 using a stationary camera in an empty, unadorned room with a concrete floor, consisting of fragments of actions each lasting just a few seconds, in which we glimpse the artist Erwin Wurm and his friends bundled up in sweaters, pants and shirts, seemingly oblivious to the usual purposes of these articles of clothing. Their bodies are contorted into ridiculous poses, under the influence of a strange choreography made up of motionless objects that tremble almost imperceptibly. Wurm thus aims to explore whether a physical action can become a sculpture and if so, at what point the transition takes place. By making use of looped sequences without movement, his aim was to find out if and when this transformation might happen. Wurm was so impressed by the visual force and immediacy of these curious anthropomorphic forms that he decided to create a series of colour photographs based on this video, thus reconnecting with this medium in which he had often worked in the 1980s. After "Self-Portrait as 47 Pickles", "59 Positions" is the second title in the series of artists books by Erwin Wurm published by RVB Books. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9782492175336

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fifty-Nine Positions (Hardcover)
• Publisher: RVB Books, Paris
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 2492175332
• ISBN 13: 9782492175336
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Filmed in 1992 using a stationary camera, ‘59 Positions’ is a 20-minute video shot in an empty room. It shows fragments of actions, each lasting just a few seconds. The viewer glimpses Erwin Wurm and others dressed in nonsensical ways, creating forms that appear like contemporary sculptures. Their bodies are contorted into ridiculous poses, as if guided by a strange choreography. With the video, Wurm aimed to explore whether a physical action can become a sculpture and, if so, at what point that transition takes place. Fascinated by the outcome, he later decided to create the series of colour photographs presented in this book, reconnecting with the immediacy of this medium.