Launch Copy, Tweak, Paste :
Modes d’appropriation dans le reenactment de livres d’artistes
Rob van Leijsen
Translated by Lucile Dupraz
About the book
Artists’ books, which once allowed artists to avoid meddlesome institutions and galleries in producing and distributing artistic work, today have a paradoxical existence. On the one hand, there are the extremely rare founding books, termed “first edition” or “original”, and, on the other hand, there are “facsimile” editions, which entered the artist’s book realm to counteract the scarcity of the originals by offering re-enactments and reinterpretations of famous titles. This essay underlines a curiosity for practices of appropriation by artists and publishers, and aims to expose methods and discourses in the production of facsimile artists’ books.
The author
Rob van Leijsen (1983, Tilburg, The Netherlands) is a multidisciplinary graphic designer based in Geneva, Switzerland. His design practice mainly aims at commissioned projects in the cultural field, notably editorial design. He currently runs his own design studio and teaches at the visual communication department of HEAD – Genève. Besides commissioned projects, he initiates research projects that offer reflections on society. In 2012 he graduated from the master Space & communication at HEAD – Genève with Art Handling in Oblivion, a catalogue that assembles several art collections that have been stolen during wartime. Art Handling in Oblivion was subsequently published by edition fink in 2014 and selected as one of “The Most Beautiful Swiss Books” of 2014. In 2019 he published The Drone Chronicles (éditions CPG and Spector Books). This editorial diptych documents the evolution and integration of drones in our society from 2001 until 2016.
