Worte Nicht in Giftige Buchstaben Einwickeln

"My second selection is another example of an artist who is remembered for a single defining work, but whose thought is much more extensive and interesting that she is often credited for. In this case, we are talking about Meret Oppenheim’s fur-lined tea cup , designed in 1936. She has also been somewhat limited to this unique gesture, perhaps the single most notorious Surrealist object. It’s in the very important collection of the MoMA, and seen by so many people in New York, but there is a whole life beyond this work that cannot be taken for granted. I’m glad you mentioned this. She came to Paris when she was only 18 years old, a beautiful young woman who went on to have love affairs with famous Surrealists like Max Ernst —and also with Marcel Duchamp, which we only learned about after her death. It was important for me to include this book in the list, even though it’s in German and has not yet been translated. “This is at the very top of my wish list of books crying out for an English translation” This is at the very top of my wish list of books crying out for an English translation. It really opens up to us the fascinating world of Paris in the first part of the twentieth century, and gives us a wholly new perspective on it. In Paris she was an integral part of artist communities that included Alberto Giacometti, Man Ray and others. This book is the first substantial collection of personal letters that she sent and received. It also includes a beautiful facsimile of an autobiographical album she created depicting her life from her childhood until the late 40s. This book has won awards for its design, realised by Swiss design team Bonbon , and it really is a most beautiful ‘coffee-table’ book. They found a wonderful balance between a strong visual language that guides the reader to understand the different voices represented here. All the letters have been generously annotated by the editors, one of whom is the artist’s niece Lisa Wenger, together with art historian Martina Corgnati. Both did a truly amazing job, sorting and annotating all the letters with great intelligence and care. The idea of altering the background of each page of the album in the facsimile section with multi-coloured pastel shades has been gorgeously realised. The change of paper underlines the precious nature of the original documents, and the different levels of footnotes and comments from the editors is clearly distinguished from the original compelling visual language. It’s a great success."