Foreword by Ann Demeester. Text by Linda Williams, Hsuan L. Hsu, Efrat Mishori.
The ersatz factories and farms that appear in the video-installations of Mika Rottenberg (born 1976) are tended by female laborers with unusual features. Uncommonly fat, tall, muscular or long-haired women work on strange, alchemical assembly lines to turn red fingernails into maraschino cherries, or to squeeze together blush, lettuce and rubber into a curious and magical product. Published on the occasion of Rottenberg's retrospective exhibition at de Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam, this first publication on the acclaimed young artist presents a comprehensive overview of her work to date. It includes extensive sections on all of Rottenberg's major video installations, culminating with her latest, “Squeeze” (2010). Video stills, diagrams, drawings and previously unpublished source material are interwoven with essays investigating the work from political, philosophical and historical perspectives. Interviews conducted by the artist with some of the performers whose extreme physiques she showcases in her videos provide unique insight into Rottenberg's process of blending fact and fiction to create her highly original work.
Featured image, "5 Second Party" (2006), is reproduced from Mika Rottenberg, published by Gregory R. Miller & Co.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New York Times
Roberta Smith
Ms. Ruttenberg’s latest efforts make her a force to contend with as a narrator and symbolist, a form maker and colorist. Coating sexual tensions with a storybook innocence, she works in a triangle bordered by Louise Bourgeois, Viola Frey and Beatrix Potter… She also draws on the centuries-old tradition of porcelain figurines while studiously ignoring all boundaries, especially those dividing insider and outsider; art and craft; and high, low and kitsch.
"Everyone feels weird in their own bodies and if you see someone that is at ease with an extreme body, that is inspirational. The way I work with the talents is like a form of method acting, very task based. I don’t give them a script; I give them instructions because I want authentic reactions. If you give your performers lines then it becomes a form of acting, for me it is a behavioral experiment. I want their body to act, not their minds. I myself function as a cheerleader rather than a director; I shout encouragements to the point of getting on their nerves."
—Mika Rottenberg, in conversation with Ann Demeester, excerpted from Mika Rottenberg.
On Friday, July 22nd the ARTBOOK team hit the Hamptons for the first event of the summer at the ARTBOOK+R/TURPAN store on Main Street in East Hampton. The occasion was the launch of artist Mika Rottenberg’s first monograph, published by Gregory R. Miller & Co. Greg and Mika’s gallerist, Nicole Klagsbrun, played gracious hosts to friends and admirers including artist Mary Heilmann, art historian and curator Klaus Kertess, novelist Frederic Tuten, and White Columns board member Stephen Abramson. The next event will be with RoseLee Goldberg and Performa on Thursday, August 4th. continue to blog
To celebrate the first publication on New York-based Mika Rottenberg, ARTBOOK | D.A.P. and Gregory R. Miller & Co. will host a book signing in the new Kiosk at MoMA PS1 featuring the artist and two special guests interviewed in the book. IFBB professional bodybuilder Heather Foster from Rottenberg's video installation "Tropical Breeze," and Long Hair Diva Leona from the video installation "Cheese" will be present to answer questions, pose for photographs, and sign copies of the book along with the artist. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 12 in. / 204 pgs / illustrated throughout. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $60 GBP £40.00 ISBN: 9780982681305 PUBLISHER: Gregory R. Miller & Co. AVAILABLE: 8/31/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by Gregory R. Miller & Co.. Foreword by Ann Demeester. Text by Linda Williams, Hsuan L. Hsu, Efrat Mishori.
The ersatz factories and farms that appear in the video-installations of Mika Rottenberg (born 1976) are tended by female laborers with unusual features. Uncommonly fat, tall, muscular or long-haired women work on strange, alchemical assembly lines to turn red fingernails into maraschino cherries, or to squeeze together blush, lettuce and rubber into a curious and magical product. Published on the occasion of Rottenberg's retrospective exhibition at de Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam, this first publication on the acclaimed young artist presents a comprehensive overview of her work to date. It includes extensive sections on all of Rottenberg's major video installations, culminating with her latest, “Squeeze” (2010). Video stills, diagrams, drawings and previously unpublished source material are interwoven with essays investigating the work from political, philosophical and historical perspectives. Interviews conducted by the artist with some of the performers whose extreme physiques she showcases in her videos provide unique insight into Rottenberg's process of blending fact and fiction to create her highly original work.
