The Material of Ornament and To Invent Relations (for Carlo Scarpa) by Joseph Kosuth - double volume
SKU: 59083561128

The Material of Ornament and To Invent Relations (for Carlo Scarpa) by Joseph Kosuth - double volume

Sale price$30.60 Regular price$34.00
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 7 - Jul 12

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

The Material of Ornament and To Invent Relations (for Carlo Scarpa) by Joseph Kosuth - double volumeThis double volume book celebrates Joseph Kosuths two large public installations in Venice: The Material of Ornament and To Invent Relations (for Carlo Scarpa) The book launch will take place in the Mario Baratto Lecture Hall, Ca Foscari University, in the heart of Venice on the Grand Canal, on the 8th of May 2019 from 5pm to 7pm on the occasion of the 58th Venice Art Biennale. The Material of Ornament is a re print of the artists book to mark the

This double volume book celebrates Joseph Kosuth’s two large public installations in Venice: ‘The Material of Ornament’ and ‘To Invent Relations (for Carlo Scarpa)’ The book launch will take place in the Mario Baratto Lecture Hall, Ca Foscari University, in the heart of Venice on the Grand Canal, on the 8th of May 2019 from 5pm to 7pm on the occasion of the 58th Venice Art Biennale.

‘The Material of Ornament’ is a re-print of the artist’s book to mark the Fondazione Querini Stampalia’s 150th anniversary, it was first published in 1999 by Westzone, the first publishing house of Gigi Giannuzzi who went on to found Trolley Books in 2001 in Venice. The book was edited by Chiara Bertola, and documented Kosuth’s permanent installation on the façade of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice, which was unveiled in 1997. This installation was initially commissioned for the ‘Sarajevo 2000’ exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The work is from a text by John Ruskin, dated from the middle of the 19th century. Ruskin’s goal was to list the elements that constituted architectural ornamentation.

In Kosuth’s own words ‘I was also curious to see if I could stand some of my own presumptions on their head and do a work about decoration and ornamentation (fairly taboo) which, nonetheless, at the same time, was a reflexive state of its own decorative role, even if in contradiction. I was interested in the idea of taking a theoretical model of ornamentation and using that as ornamentation.’

The book includes an introduction by the present director of the Querini Stampalia Marigusta Lazzari and by the previous director, Giorgio Busetto, an essay by curator Chiara Bertola and an interview by historian Angela Vettese.

The second volume focuses on a more recent work produced in 2016 on occasion of the Architecture Biennale. This book presents a multifaceted interpretation of the artist’s work in relation to Carlo Scarpa and the architect’s intervention in the renowned Mario Baratto lecture hall. The work consists of reproductions of Scarpa’s own handwriting and line drawings as well as statements by Scarpa on architecture and the Baratto lecture hall, selected by Kosuth and positioned in sections around the perimeter of the windowpanes. The reprint is of significance for being a Venice project conceived in Venice and published and printed in Venice, and since the death of Gigi Giannuzzi in 2012 a way to historically revisit one of his early publications.

The book is edited by Chiara Bertola and Fiona Biggiero and contains a foreword by the provost of Ca Foscari, Flavio Gregori, an essay by the sociologist Angela Mengoni and introductory essays by curators Chiara Bertola and Geraldine Blais and a graphic project with an imaginary dialogue on architecture between Kosuth and Carlo Scarpa by Fiona Biggiero. Photographic documentation by Mauro Sambo and Francesco Allegretto.

This double volume has been possible thanks to the generous support of Galleria Lia Rumma, Milano/Napoli and Galleria Vistamare /Vistamarestudio, Pescara/Milano.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 59083561128

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 872 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
M
Verified Purchase
Michael P. Lefand
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Krypto, a little of everything.
"Superman in the Fifties" is a collection of 17 stories from 1950 to 1959 reprinted in color. For me it was a nostalgic return to when I was a child and able to purchase 10 comics for a dollar off a turning rack (no sales tax either) at the local soda shop. The comics from the fifties served as an escapism for much of the youth at the time that was coming of age with the awareness that we could be threatened by nuclear attack at any time. Bomb shelter construction could be found in Popular Science magazines, and drills were performed in schools with students going into halls and crouching down and covering their heads or hiding under desks. A hero was needed, one with super powers who could make the world right. We could all dream. Superman, "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...fighting a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." Sorry, just had to put that TV intro in from the 50's. The stories may seem dated, but that is part of the mystique of reading comics that are reprinted. The titles in this volume are: - Three Supermen From Krypton! - The Menace From The Stars! - The Girl Who Didn't Believe In Superman! - Superboy's Last Day In Smallville! - The Ugly Superman! - Superman's Big Brother! - The Super-Dog From Krypton! - Titano, The Super-Ape! - The Supergirl From Krypton! - Superman's Super-Magic Show! - The Super-Duel In Space - The Battle With Bizarro! - The Bride Of Bizarro! - The End Of The Planet! - Superman And Robin!! - The Stolen Superman Signal - The Girl In Superman's Past My favorite was "The Super Duel in Space" with Brainiac reducing some of Earth's cities and putting them in bottles. It was a good change up from the usual fiction, and non-fiction that I read. It provides plenty of background about Superman for young readers with terrific art that was hand drawn, unlike most modern comics that are created on computers. The stories are a very good sampling of "Superman" from the fifties. I look forward to reading "Superman in the Sixties." I give "Superman in the Fifties" 5 stars.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2011
D
Verified Purchase
David W. Nesbitt
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
This is perfect - I just wish they would reprint all of the 1950's and 60's stories!
This is great - wish I had more Superman stories from the 1950's to read!! I was born in 1952 so this is something right up my alley. I am a big Superman fan and had most of the mid to late 1950'2 issues until my mom burned them when I went away to college. I understand why but still wish I had them - for many different reasons. The coloring is bright and spot-on. I even remember most of these stories - I know it's been more than 50 years ago but they were a big part of my early life. All of the stories are least good and couple are truly great. Some of the plots are little silly by todays standards but things have most definitely changed since they were written. IF you love Superman, grew-up in the 50's or just anything historical you will love this! I just wish they would reprint all the 50's and 60's stories. That is something I would most certainly buy!! My rating for this is a perfect 10 out of 10 - for me it's perfect - all I want is MORE of this!!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2016
M
Verified Purchase
M. Crowley
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
Superman in the wacky '50s
Format: Paperback
Love the Jerry Ordway cover, although an image from the era would have been more fitting. This may be the Superman era most of remember best, the gimmick-laden Weisinger era that made the most contributions to Superman lore. For me the best story here is the first one, in which the other survivors of Krypton's demise -- Kryptonian (here called "Kryptonites") super criminals U-Ban, Mala and Kizo -- appear for the first time. Other firsts include the first Brainiac tale, Supergirl's first appearance, and "The Last Superman of Krypton." Krypton did not play a big role in 1940s Superman stories. Curiously, Brainiac looks as we've come to know him on the cover of that comic, but less so inside. This is a decent sampling of '50s Superman tales. Much here to enjoy!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2025
P
Verified Purchase
Prilo
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 4
A great read
Format: Kindle
Great stories from the fifties that I did not know existed until I opened this book. I hope there are more stories to come.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
D
Verified Purchase
Doctor Moss
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Just for Fun
You can't help, in reading these stories, remarking on how comics (and popular culture in general) reflect what we want on our minds and how we want to feel about ourselves. Superman today is intense. He fights apocalyptic battles, and he sometimes loses! There's a lot at stake -- everything, EVERYTHING, lies in the balance. Superman himself seems literaly beyond human. In order to live the life of challenges he faces, he must be beyond the concerns of everyday life -- he can't really share in the life that the rest of us live. Superman in the fifties lived in a much more comfortable, stable world, and his own life was much more continuous with ours. In these stories, he discovers that he is not alone -- his long last pal, Krypto, shows up, and he discovers his cousin, Supergirl. He has girlfriends -- Lana Lang and Lois Lane compete for his attention (without a lot of the psychological anxiety that Superman will face in the future over his inability to live a normal life and raise a normal family). The villains, like Lex Luthor, aren't even purely evil -- they have their limits. Bizarro is not evil at all, just . . . dumb and amusing so long as Superman can repair any damage he does. It's a little bit trivial to point out how comics reflect cultural reality, but . . . they do. It's fun to revisit the fifties here -- i suspect it's not so much an innocent age as one in which the story we told ourselves about ourselves (as in our Superman comics) was focused where we wanted it to be focused -- family, friends, the pleasures of everyday life. But, putting aside all the sociology and pretenses of cultural history, these stories are just fun to read. It's not the Superman we know now, it's just different, a change of pace, fun.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2013

recommand products