Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
On view at PaceWildenstein’s West 25th Street location is a new multi-media show by Pop artist Jim Dine. The exhibition includes books, sculpture, photographs, poetry, and collage, and reportedly is born of the artist’s desire to produce one book a week for a year. In the installation, Dine explores his consciousness and memory with a profuse juxtaposition of his poetry, both spoken and written, old photographs and mementos, along with sculptures and books.
Jim Dine: Hot Dream (52 Books) Exhibition Detail [PaceWildenstein]
Hot Dream (52 Books) [Steidl]
Jim Dine: Poet Singing (Getty Villa Exhibitions) [Getty Museum]
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ originated out of a project by the same name, a 52-volume limited edition book set published by Steidl this month. The books are intensely autobiographic, and explore poetry, book-making, and craftsmanship while reflecting upon identity, nature, art, reality. Of the project, Dine said, ‘The fact of making a book a week and the sensual possibilities i.e. the act of making a union with humans through the smell of the ink on the paper, the feel of the images and words. Hot Dream tells a lot about me, Dine, and book-making.’
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
Dine first received recognition for his participation in The Happenings, performance art in collaboration with artists such as Claes Oldenburg and John Cage, and then later with the emergence of the Pop Art movement. He became associated with his many reworkings of hearts and empty bathrobes, as well as his integration of commercially manufactured objects into his work. Since the 1980s Dine has shifted more towards sculpture, and recently has been incorporating his poetry into installations and other projects.
‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ is on view at PaceWildenstein, 534 West 25th Street from December 11, 2008 to February 7, 2009. Also on view is Dine’s installation ‘Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets)’ at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. The Villa houses the J. Paul Getty Museum’s antiquities, and Dine’s exhibition is the first contemporary art show there. It incorporates ancient Greek statuettes along with a sculpture of the artist’s head, surrounded by his poetry. Poetry has long been a passion for Dine, and the installation presents the artist as Orpheus surrounded by sirens.
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
Installation view of Jim Dine’s ‘Hot Dream (52 Books)’ via PaceWildenstein
