Hanne Darboven--Writing Time

Hanne Darboven's artistic practice is explored in the book, focusing on her mark-making as a form of marking time on paper. It highlights her Konstruction drawings, formulas that calculate specific dates and durations, and the installation Inventions that Have Changed Our World. The book offers a unique perspective on art and life, challenging the linear and objective measure of time.

Format: Hardback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 10 October 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

Hanne Darboven (1941–2009) is a renowned conceptual artist known for her captivating installations featuring individually framed sheets adorned with written formulations and collaged images. This concise survey delves into the artist's life and work through the lens of drawing, highlighting three pivotal moments in her artistic practice. The journey begins with an exploration of Darboven's Konstruction drawings, abstract works created during her two-year stay in New York in the late 1960s. These drawings showcase her innovative use of transversal and mirroring strategies, resulting in visually striking compositions.

The subsequent section delves into how Darboven transformed her drawing practice into formulas that calculate specific dates and durations into a single numerical representation. These formulas were represented in various forms, ranging from calligraphic lines to consecutively drawn boxes. The book concludes with a close examination of "Inventions that Have Changed Our World," an installation from 1996 that documents each day of the twentieth century according to Darboven's formulas. Each day is assigned an inventor, ranging from Johannes Gutenberg to the Wright brothers, representing the ten decades of the century. This engaging overview underscores how Darboven's work offers a profoundly unique perspective on art and life, challenging the notion of time as a linear and objective measure.

This captivating overview was distributed for the Menil Collection and is scheduled to be exhibited at The Menil Collection in Houston from October 29, 2023, to February 11, 2024. The exhibition will provide visitors with an opportunity to immerse themselves in the artist's rich and intricate world, exploring the profound ways in which she challenged the boundaries of time and perception through her visionary artistic practice.

Weight: 574g
Dimension: 197 x 248 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300273298