Christian Boltanski by Donald Kuspit
Paris-based art historian Didier Semin follows Boltanski's work from the fictional biographies through to recent installations in the context of cultural and art historical developments in post-war France. Boltanski discusses his work and the role of the artist with art historian Tamar Garb, author of Sisters of the Brush (1994) and co-editor of The Jew in the Text (1995). Donald Kuspit, contributing editor to Artforum, focuses on Monument: The Children of Dijon, a work that consists of dozens of eerily lit, anonymous, black and white photographs of children long since lost to adulthood. Boltanski has chosen texts by master postmodern novelist Georges Perec, written in an inventory-like style that mirrors that of the artist. The book also features a selection of Boltanski's own writings, a beguiling and provocative blend of truth and fiction.