Life Writing im Künstlerbuch

Abstract

Productive engagement with the idea of a life being written, or a life writing itself, is evident in artistic practices such as book design. Often, the book is considered an object that accompanies life, such as a notebook, diary, chronicle or archive. A notable special case among artistically designed 'life books' is the 'artist's book', which deals with the entity that produced it. Examples presented include Christian Boltanski's La vie impossible, Paul Stein's life book project, and David Tufnell's compilation of David Robilliard's Notebooks. These books oscillate between suggesting “authentic documentation” and emphasising constructive work with the material. They are characterised by strategies of relativising, refracting, discontinuing and withdrawing.