| Title | : | Works |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1564789039 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781564789037 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 118 |
| Publication | : | First published October 2, 2002 |
| Awards | : | BTBA Best Translated Book Award Fiction Longlist (2015) |
Like Suicide and Autoportrait, Works is another of Eduoard Levé’s bewitching reconceptions of what the novel can (or should) do.
A list of 533 projects, beginning with its own description–both likely and unlikely, sober and ridiculous; some of which Levé later realized, most of which he did not. Works ranks with the fiction of Georges Perec for its seemingly limitless, ingenious, and comical inventiveness. A lampoon of conceptual art–if not, indeed, an exemplar of its charms at their best–Works is another piece in the puzzle of Levé’s brief and fascinating life.
Works Reviews
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This collection of 533 satirical, serious, and strange unrealised ideas for artworks reads like a list composed by Maximilian Sacheverell Hollingsworth, the protagonist of Alex Kovacs’s excellent The Currency of Paper, so similar in tone are the two books. A puzzling and amusing and entertaining collection showing that often the idea behind an artwork is stronger than its execution. Is most conceptual art a random fling at the dartboard of ideas? Does the suggestion of a deeper meaning or an ex post facto intellectual defence, once applied to any mad notion plucked from an artist’s imagination, contribute to the creation of art or the mere discourse of art? Is the postmodern condition the perennial dilemma of being trapped in manifold discourses and never arriving at the wonder and transcendence we associate with the most timeless art? Questions like this can be read into this impressive list and its less impressive sublists. [This printing of the book had numerous errors, notably dozens of missing spaces where two words run together—an uncommon fluff-up for Dalkey].
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"a book describes works that the author has conceived but not brought into being," along with 532 other potential/possible artistic creations (paintings, films, photographs, books, performances, architecture, exhibitions, etc.). levé's works (oeuvres) is imaginative and clever, but suffers from an earnestness lacking a corresponding zeal. these oulipo-esque exercises in artistic opportunity (some of which the french artist, photographer, and writer brought to fruition prior to his 2007 suicide) are inventive and many ingeniously conceived, but are perhaps best explored (or actualized!) piecemeal - lest they become tedious or redundant.
10. a film scene is shown backwards to actors so they can learn to act it in reverse. once they succeed, they are filmed anew. the new scene, in turn projected backwards, becomes strange: reversing the inversion doesn't get you back to where you started.
311. set up in the countryside, a camera records the passage of birds. a sheet of paper is placed over the screen on which the recording is played. the artist's pencil follows the path of each bird on the screen, tracing arabesques. the color of each line is matched to the bird's plumage.
511. an exhibit entitled, encouragement, show poor pieces from the juvenilia of famous artists. the title is not aimed at the exhibitors, for whom these pieces have nothing promising about them, but rather for those young visitors who might become artists in the future and for whom such an exhibition might serve as encouragement to keep working without hang-ups. the exhibition works through a kind of inverse exemplarity: it's less about humbling the public by overwhelming them with masterpieces, than it is about giving them confidence by presenting them with "lesserpieces."
*translated from the french by jan steyn (levé's suicide) -
Did a review of this book here:
https://youtu.be/_WTC3cBBrAo -
Firstly it is fantastic that another Édouard Levé book has been translated into english. I was worried that Dalkey Archive Press would stop at Autoportrait and Suicide. When I found out Oeuvres had been translated into Works it means that the world is far from finished with Levé yet.
Works is a collection of 533 ideas for works of art that Levé had come up with. Some of the ideas presented in this volume were later realised.
Some of the works were absurd and hilarious. They sort of catch you off guard and appear as punchlines. Quite a few of the works are powerful but many were largely derivative of others. Also some of the ideas for works were flat out boring. I found myself scanning the large tracts of text where he gives each and every example of juxtaposed french words and cities for an exhibition. I think on some level he is lampooning the idea of performance art and the art world but then again maybe not. Some of the works are incredibly self referential and it becomes apparent that he is obsessed with perspective. He has this uncanny ability to take your eyeballs out of your head and see what he wants you to see.
Overall, if you are a fan of Levé this would very much complement that. I was not exactly floored like I was with Suicide or Autoportrait. You may find the works a bit tedious but there is a legitimate brilliance to this book. -
Works as a collection is a perfect companion piece to Autoportrait and Suicide. Autoportrait acted as a meticulous character study of his own banalities, a case study of the author's everyday life, feelings, ideas and tastes. Suicide represented the underbelly of this, the dark layer under the iceberg that is rarely represented or expressed well when dealing with the raw psyche. Works in contrast is a collection that represents a lack. It is a bunch of ideas (533) which would never be realized (except a few) and could not be realized typically due to their abstract nature. They are aphoristic, funny, sad and reflexive. They are a constant source of thought and inspiration and will be a constant reference for creativity.
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Muy interesante libro. Proximo en el canal MarinaEscribe :)
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“390. Animals paint. The medium, colors, and tools are chosen by an animal wrangler. There are several styles.
The animal is left alone with a canvas and trays of color, into which it may dip its body parts. The animal may or may not be in a mind to paint. If the animal is not in the mood for painting, it is encouraged by the wrangler.
The animal paints with its paws, its tail, its belly (creeping animals), or its entire body. The animal's painting-parts are covered in non-toxic paint. Only its tongue paints by subtraction, licking at digestible material applied to the canvas before the start.
There is only one animal.
There are several animals. They play, fight, couple on the canvas.
The animal moves around on the canvas.” -
Silly art ideas mixed with better ones. It got tedious after a while. A lot of similar ideas, or variations on the same theme. Horrible proofing.
Note: I don't consider it a novel. -
maravilla. de esos libros que me hubiese gustado escribir.
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When you think of the word “fiction” do you generally think of a prose “story”? One with some basic narrative structure, whether in the short or long form? Did your education “tell you” it should have a beginning, a middle and an end? Did those training courses teach you the importance of character, plot, a sense of place, conflict?
Here is the Oxford Dictionary definition of “fiction”:
1. (noun) 1. Literature in the form of prose, especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people
2. 2. Something that is invented or untrue
2.1 A belief or statement which is false, but is often held to be true because it is expedient to do so
I’m not 100% sure that this definition helps, when we are looking at Edouard Leve’s “Works”. Leve was a Parisian artist, photographer and writer. After a trip to India in the early 1990’s he claimed to have destroyed his paintings and “reinvented” himself as a conceptual photographer. However I’m not here to review his photographic works, it is first publication “Works” (originally published as “Oeuvres” in 2002) which I am looking at, a book recently translated into English and released by Dalkey Archive.
For my full review go to
http://messybooker.blogspot.com.au/ -
Díla jsou sbírka 533 uměleckých děl z Levého hlavy - jedná se o díla filmová, sochařská, malířská, literární, hudební a tak dále pana krále, z čehož je patrné, že Levé je multifunkční jak naše sekretářka, co zvlándne skenovat, faxovat i kopírovat. Crazy shit.
Oproti Autoportrétu a hlavně Sebevraždě, jsou Díla o dost slabší. Což vůbec neznamená, že jsou špatný Za zmínku stojí třeba díla:
- postavit dům podle obrázku tříletého dítěte
- orchestr si náhodně rozdělí nástroje těsně pred koncertem
- v sále se rozkládá polystyrenový pohoří a uprostřed toho je airbus vymodelován z kebabů
- z mateřského mléka je vyroben lidský sýr
- zlatá vrtačka provrtává jelito
Na druhou starnu je Levé občas takovej umělec, že bych musel na gůgl abych pochopil věci typu: "dovnitř altové violy je marufláží přenesen lep představující anamorfózu jelena”. Jelilkož mě to ale na gůgl nedonutilo, dávám šest a začínám používat častěji slovo marufláž. -
Ahoj Edo, co tvoříš?
Ahoj Vojtěše, mám takový nápady... -
'Works' is basically just a list of ideas for Leve's unrealized artworks (i.e. installations, photographs, paintings, multi-media, etc.), which are often and repeatedly based around themes of plays on and parodies of representation, copy, original, intention, sign, signified, meaning, message, medium, etc.
This list is interesting enough for the artistic possibilities it imagines, but is not nearly as satisfying as reading 'Suicide' or 'Autoportrait,' works of Leve's which I relished for their voice. It is with these latter 'works,' rather, that one is able to truly savour the pin pricks of Leve's piercing, pointillist prose. -
Some of the works are almost mathematical, interested in volume or proportional differences. Many involve reversals of expectations, perspectives, etc. Others are pun-like or seemingly meant to be funny. A few are grotesque.
It's one of the most inventive experimental forms I've read. And the scope of the combined ideas is impressive. I'm only giving it a medium score because many of the works didn't interest me, and some were quite confusing to comprehend. -
A series of descriptions of ideas for art works — some written, photographs, visual, installation. Levé is fascinated with mismatched signifiers, e.g. people who have the same name as a famous people, that's a recurring trend, as is explosions, superimposed maps, etc. The dry descriptive style is sometimes bland but I also like that he describes the works but not their significance to him, for some it's not clear why he thinks this would be an interesting work.
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Tbh I didn’t really finish this, I was having a good time flipping through it and reading the works at random until I got to the one about the ticks and now I kinda regret ever encountering this book.
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i drew little stars by the works i particularly liked. i drew 35 stars. there are 533 works.
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Livre loufoque - liste de 533 oeuvres que E Leve - aurait souhaite creer. Ca fait sourire souvent, reflechir un peu et irrite de temps en temps.
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«In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni». El verso del diablo y un abrigo de luciérnagas.
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1. A reader writes a review of a book he just read. The book contains theoretical works conceived of but not realized by the author. The review is conducted in the same format as the book.
2. Pages of Edouard Leve's "Works" are rendered into blackout poetry giving a review of the book itself. In order to say what is exactly desired, certain words half appear in order to spell out what may be complementary words.
3. An author records an interview/roundtable discussion with himself in which his different voices offer different opinions. One dissenting reviewer offers the opinion that some of the works sound downright uninteresting and added unnecessary length such as 236. "Artists who are also bikers are photographed in a group." A second likes the literary merit of the book, but offers the critique that certain projects appear impossible and that this takes away from the intended goal e.g. 386. "A photograph of a brief apparition of the Devil is printed on an assemblage of ladybugs covered in photosensitive material." A third likes the book for it's metanarrative properties in that the combined reactions and opinions of the book are the real production and says that it is delightfully impossible for any one reader to come to a consensus with himself about how he felt about it on the whole.
4. An artist takes pictures of people reading Edouard Leve's "Works." The pieces are titled by the one word reviews she requests of the readers. Examples: "Imaginative," "Pretentious," "Substantial," "Hearwarming," "Sad"
5. During the promotiona tour, Copies of the book "Works" by Edouard Leve are used to construct a small clubhouse in a bookstore. Inside readings are held and discussions and opinions are shared.
6. Reviewers attempt to carry out certain works described in "Works" by Edouard Leve. Their work is then reviewed. A representation of 500. "Two hundred and twenty-four coins are stacked onto a pedestal, representing the average number of coins held by an inhabitant of France." is deemed "amateur" and "useless." The reviewer in this case is not aware of the life and works of Edouard Leve.
7. A review of Edouard Leve's "Works" is composed using only words from old school assignments of the reviewer. A sample: "It is overall good and I would reccomend it but I wish there was more. Overall I liked it." The original context is not shared.
Bonus Material
If you are interested in sampling some of the actual "Works" you can do so at the following link.
http://www.thewhitereview.org/fiction...
If you are further interested I have been conceiving my own "works" on my blog for a couple months and would like to shamelessly plug myself.
http://iamseamus.tumblr.com/theoretic... -
Un livre assez pénible à lire, qui nécessite une attention soutenue de par la forme qu'il prend : chaque note décrit rapidement une oeuvre d'art, et nombreuses d'entre elles se construisent sur un terrain conceptuel ou du moins fortement issu de jeux intellectuels, dans la lignée des autres oeuvres réalisés par l'auteur et plus généralement de certains artistes de sa génération. J'avais peur que toutes ces idées deviennent asphyxiantes, mais elles semblent finalement si liées à la sensibilité d'Édouard Levé que je ne me suis pas senti absolument influencé pour autant. Il y aurait beaucoup de points à soulever pour analyser plus profondément les effets que génère ce livre.
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Un caudal de originalidad e imaginación que llega hasta el tedio, pero sin dejar de pasar por la absoluta inspiración que provoca: las "Obras" de Levé son el pie que cualquier artista podría utilizar para llevar a cabo una obra propia, ya sea una instalación absurda e irrisoria como una pintura abstracta o un cuento. Es al mismo tiempo que ejercicio literario, una reflexión sobre el arte, no solo contemporáneo, sino sobre el arte como expresión humana, como instrumento para tensionar la realidad física, psicológica, y simbólica de la que estamos hechos.
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Edouard Levé's unrealised avante-gardisms tire around the halfway mark when a pattern emerges: take "thing" apply some distantly related/completely unrelated "stuff" and photograph/display/participate x533.
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Díla od Levého musí dostat pět hvězd už jen proto, že ten frajer napsal na 184 stránek daleko víc nápadů na bizarní umělecké instalace, filmy, knihy, scénky atd, než kolik jich vymyslí průměrný člověk za 500 let. Není divu, že s takovým mozkem nakonec provedl džambulkiádu.
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Ok, but not on the level of his other work; also, absolutely rife with typographical errors.
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some of the ideas are absolutely fabulous. sure hope some get realized.
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***2.5 stars***
