The sole monograph available on Pierre Huyghe, the most internationally known French artist. This work, based on his project for the French Pavillon at the Venice Biennial 2001, gives not only a clear commentary by the artist on the content of his works, but also a much wider view by two artists chosen by Pierre Huyghe : Joe Scanlan and David Robbins. The photographs, videos and installations produced by Pierre Huyghe (born 1962 in Paris, where he lives and works) question the conditions of representing reality and the shifts of meaning they give rise to. By using the aesthetics of an underrated daily round, the artists suggests the limits of our knowledge, based restrictively on the interpretation of the world. Situated somewhere between reality and make-believe, and steeped in the cinematographic world (repeats, remakes, and so on), his videos lead the viewer to question his own vision of the things surrounding him, and his relation to collective memory

With an introduction by Tom Eccles and Paul O’Neill, essays by Joshua Decter and Helmut Draxler. Documentation of the contributing projects and reviews from the time, for instance by Joe Scanlan. Interviews with Mark Dion, Simon Grennan and Mary Jane Jacob. A show challenging conventional understandings of public art, ‘Culture in Action’ in Chicago had a new social agenda, and rethought what an exhibition of contemporary art might be. Through eight projects by artists initiated in the early 1990s and developed in collaboration with local people, the intention was to engage diverse groups over time, in addition to the visiting public in 1993. In the fifth book in Afterall’s Exhibition Histories series, the course of these projects is illustrated and described, with critical reappraisal of this important exhibition in newly commissioned essays and interviews. In the core text, Joshua Decter reflects on how we might evaluate this controversial curatorial project now. A review from The New York Times gives an example of the contemporaneous reception, and a new essay by Helmut Draxler elaborates on the expanded context for art-making and display in those years, bringing European perspectives to bear. The introduction by Tom Eccles and Paul O’Neill frames the whole, which further includes interviews with the curator and two of the participating artists.

Certificates of authenticity are a critical aspect of art works today. They often embody the artwork itself, while referring to it, serving as its deed, legal statement, and fiscal invoice. Certificates by artists validate the authorship and originality of the work and they allow the work of art to be positioned in the marketplace as a branded product. Providing examples of artists certificates from the past fifty years, this book reveals how roles have shifted and developed, as well as how the materials and content of art have changed. With certificates by: Ruben Aubrecht, Judith Barry, Robert Barry/Stefan Brüggemann, Hemali Bhuta and Shreyas Karle, Pierre Bismuth, George Brecht, Marinus Boezem, Daniel Buren, Andre Caderé, Marcel Duchamp, Maria Eichhorn, Urs Fischer, Dan Flavin, Andrea Fraser, Liam Gillick, The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Hans Haacke, Edward Kienholz, Yves Klein, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Ken Lum, Piero Manzoni, Gordon Matta-Clark, Josiah McElheny and Allan Kaprow, Jonathan Monk, Robert Morris, Antoni Muntadas, Yoko Ono, Cesare Pietroiusti, Adrian Piper, Emilio Prini, Robert Projansky and Seth Siegelaub, Raqs Media Collective, Robert Rauschenberg, Sharmila Samant, Joe Scanlan, David Shrigley, Daniel Spoerri, Haim Steinbach, Superflex, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Ben Vautier, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Cerith Wyn Evans, Carey Young, Andrea Zittel, Heimo Zobernig.