The Separation of Man (and Text)
WOLMAN, Gil J. L’Homme séparé. Inédits manuscrits. Paris: Chez Nane Stern. 1979.
4to. Original printed wrappers; ff. [31], printed on recycled paper to rectos only; a few minor paperflaws not affecting legibility; very good.
First edition, very rare, no. vii of 150 copies and one of the first twenty copies printed on recycled paper, of the first artist’s book by Gil Wolman, co-founder with Guy Debord of the Lettrist International (1952), signed by the artist.
On the occasion of the publication of the work by gallerist Nane Stern, the gallery ‘also exhibited a plastic version in 29 frames with the texts written in ink on separate and overlaid sheets of tracing paper, in order to disturb the reading, as in his old Lettrist works, albeit in an altogether different way. This emblematic Wolman work showed once more that he was thinking simultaneously as a poet and as an artist’ (Acquaviva, ‘Wolman in the Open’ (2010)).
This blazing piece illustrates his concept of ‘separation’ and is, in many ways, closer to the Situationist International than to Lettrism. The text was physically torn in half – in an act of literal separation – and subsequently photocopied, here using recycled paper.
OCLC records four copies only, only one of which in the US (Yale); no copies traced in the UK.
SKU: 2123876