Adam Pendleton: As Heavy as Sculpture

Adam Pendleton's artist book, As Heavy as Sculpture, explores the language of protest through collages that incorporate drawings, sketches, writing, and marks, often combined with images. The book collects, repeats, and processes over 80 source collages, drawing from the protests against police brutality in 2020. Pendleton transcribes slogans sprayed on walls and windows, combining them with his own improvised language and photographs of art objects and artifacts. The collages are duplicated, laid out across 30 sheets, and folded into book signatures, creating new displacements and cuts through a procedure of recombination and translation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 14 September 2021
Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers

A captivating artist's book by Adam Pendleton, titled "As Heavy as Sculpture," delves into the language of protest. Following his 2021 installation of the same name at the New Museum in New York, Pendleton has compiled a remarkable collection that encompasses over 80 source collages. These collages seamlessly integrate drawings, sketches, writing, and marks, often combined with images, creating a rich tapestry of artistic expression.

A significant portion of the language used in the collages draws inspiration from the widespread protests against police brutality that erupted in the United States in 2020. Pendleton has meticulously transcribed slogans that were spray-painted on walls and windows, seamlessly blending them with his own improvised language and photographs of art objects and artifacts. These include sculptures, masks, and figures, adding depth and visual interest to the collages.

Through his artistic exploration, Pendleton highlights the poetic pressure that uprisings exert on language, sometimes compressing it into its most basic forms. Phrases like "ACAB" and "1312" are reduced to their core elements, "A," "B," "C," and "1," "2," and "3," emphasizing the power of concise and impactful messaging.

In addition to the decomposition and recomposition of language, Pendleton has employed a unique folding technique to transform the collages into a book format. The collages are duplicated, arranged across 30 sheets, and then folded into book signatures. This process not only adds a spatial dimension to the artwork but also facilitates a recombination and translation of the images. The result is a series of arrangements that are unplanned and spontaneous, creating a dynamic and engaging visual experience.

"As Heavy as Sculpture" serves as a testament to Pendleton's artistic vision and his ability to capture the essence of social and political movements through his art. It invites viewers to engage with the language of protest and consider the impact of words and images on our collective consciousness. Through his meticulous craftsmanship and innovative approach, Pendleton has created a thought-provoking and visually stunning masterpiece that will resonate with audiences for years to come.

Weight: 1274g
Dimension: 225 x 171 x 51 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636810270