New York: Up Close E-Book

Heinz Nigg

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 22

Beschreibung

A compact digital camera has been my constant companion for many years. I capture what attracts, repels, and intrigues me. I am particularly drawn to the in-between spaces, the signs, and symbols of human existence. Close-ups hold a special fascination for me. My interest in art dates back to the 1970s, when I first encountered the ideas of Marcel Duchamp, the Fluxus movement, Minimal Art and Conceptual Art. Meeting the New York artist On Kawara further deepened my fascination with conceptual art. His philosophical approach to time and place continues to shape my perception of the world around me. For this book, I have edited my images of New York and placed them in dialogue with each other. Instead of an introduction to my working process, I offer a glimpse into my diary from 1974, the year I met On Kawara.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Preface

Travel Notes

Manhattan

Brooklyn. Portrait of a street

Take Two. Images in dialogue

What is art? A conversation

Locations and dates

PREFACE

A compact digital camera has been my constant companion for many years. I capture what attracts, repels, and intrigues me. I am particularly drawn to the in-between spaces, the signs, and symbols of human existence. Close-ups hold a special fascination for me.

My interest in art goes back to the 1970s, when I first encountered the ideas of Marcel Duchamp, the Fluxus movement, Minimal Art and Conceptual Art. Meeting the New York artist On Kawara further deepened my fascination with conceptual art. His philosophical approach to time and place continues to shape my perception of the world around me.

For this book, I have edited my images of New York and placed them in dialogue with each other. Instead of an introduction to my working process, I offer a glimpse into my diary from 1974, the year I met On Kawara.

A discussion about the purpose of art concludes this book.

Heinz Nigg

TRAVEL NOTES

New York, November 3-16, 1974

I am traveling with Johannes "Johnny" Gachnang, the director of the Kunsthalle Bern. Gachnang is looking for New York artists for exhibitions in Switzerland. I am his assistant and translator.

Sunday, November 3, 1974

Arrive at Kennedy Airport. Standing in line at customs. Hiroko and On Kawara wait for us outside. Foggy, cold fall weather. Indian summer is over. Driving on the highway to Manhattan. We visit Kasper Koenig's family, where Johnny will stay (I have been placed with the Kawaras). The Koenigs live on the nineteenth floor. Minimalist interior. A red Date Painting by On Kawara adorns the dining room wall. Kasper Koenig, an art agent from Cologne: close-cropped hair, distinctive, sharp features. He translates between the Kawaras and Johnny, who doesn't speak English. He does it in a pleasant and charming way. And there is Köng's young wife with their two small children.

Later, the Kawaras and I go downtown. They live on 22nd Street. The neighborhood seems run down. The parking garage where the Kawaras keep their car is eerie. We close the garage door and walk to the Kawaras' loft. It's a tall brick building with lots of offices. The elevator can only be used with a special key. The elevator door opens on the seventh floor and leads directly to the loft.

A room of about eighty by thirty feet. There is an adjoining room where the Kawaras sleep, complete with a bathroom and shower. My bed is in the large room, separated