Text by Jean Conner. Photographs by Jason Fulford.
Artist and filmmaker Bruce Conner’s (1933–2008) mobility was severely limited for the last five years of his life, when he rarely left the San Francisco home he shared with his wife, Jean. To aid in his physical navigation of its spaces, he worked with assistants to install a succession of solid brass handles in each and every room--surrounding the stove, down the boat-like stairwell, inside the recesses of the bedroom closet. At last count, the handles, a labyrinth of critical support, numbered 163.
Still in situ after his death in 2008, the handles are arguably Conner’s last great work--at once physical and metaphysical, fragmentary and elusive, elegant and anonymous. Together, they draft the ghost architecture of Conner’s final years, transforming the pedestrian into something altogether different.
Will Brown is a collaborative project founded by Lindsey White, Jordan Stein and David Kasprzak. Formerly based in a San Francisco storefront, Will Brown’s main objective is to manipulate the structures of exhibition-making as a critical practice. Will Brown recently mounted a solo exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive.
Featured photograph by Jason Fulford is reproduced from 'Bruce Conner Brass Handles' published by J&L Books and distributed by ARTBOOK | D.A.P.
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There is something profoundly inspiring in knowing that Bruce Conner approached his illness at the end of his life with the same inventive fury that exemplified his unparalleled art career. As his mobility became more impaired, he fashioned 163 brass handles throughout his home to aid in getting around, creating something of an art installation devoted to the quotidian. A merry artifact vibrantly documented by Jason Fulford and lovingly packaged by the geniuses at J&L Books, this book is the product of Will Brown, a collaborative project founded by Lindsey White, Jordan Stein and David Kasprzak. continue to blog
Just in time for the major Bruce Conner retrospective currently on view at MoMA, J&L Books has published a book unlike any other. Featuring photographs by Jason Fulford and text by the artist's wife, Jean Conner, taken from an interview with collaborate art project Will Brown, the book documents the 163 solid brass handles which Conner placed throughout his house after he began to have mobility issues related to liver disease. "I didn't know quite what to do with all these things after Bruce died," Jean Conner is quoted. "And somebody said, well, they're house jewelry." continue to blog
Bruce Conner Brass Handles A Project by Will Brown
Published by J&L Books. Text by Jean Conner. Photographs by Jason Fulford.
Artist and filmmaker Bruce Conner’s (1933–2008) mobility was severely limited for the last five years of his life, when he rarely left the San Francisco home he shared with his wife, Jean. To aid in his physical navigation of its spaces, he worked with assistants to install a succession of solid brass handles in each and every room--surrounding the stove, down the boat-like stairwell, inside the recesses of the bedroom closet. At last count, the handles, a labyrinth of critical support, numbered 163.
Still in situ after his death in 2008, the handles are arguably Conner’s last great work--at once physical and metaphysical, fragmentary and elusive, elegant and anonymous. Together, they draft the ghost architecture of Conner’s final years, transforming the pedestrian into something altogether different.
Will Brown is a collaborative project founded by Lindsey White, Jordan Stein and David Kasprzak. Formerly based in a San Francisco storefront, Will Brown’s main objective is to manipulate the structures of exhibition-making as a critical practice. Will Brown recently mounted a solo exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive.
