Asphyxiating Culture AND OTHER WRITINGS. [Translated by Carol Volk, Introduction by Thomas M. Messer.]

US,slim,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Originally published as 'Asphyxiante culture.',Le Editions de Minuit,PARIS,FRANCE in 1986.Translated by Carol Volk with an Introduction by Thomas M. Messer.] NFINE/NFINE-. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,wrap-around white background with b/w pictorial illustration of his sculpted work 'Le fondateur' (Buste) to front panel of dw/dj,with capitalised,red lettered author name, lower case part-title and capitalised,black-lettered sub-title, capitalised other lettering (translator and introductor names); spine/backstrip with capitalised black+red lettered subject's name and capitalised,red+black lettered part and sub-titles respectively,and capitalised publisher name to foot of same,rear panel with subject's b/w contemporary portrait.Negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges ubiquitously aged/toned but without foxing/ spotting; contents bright,tight,clean with minimal page-edge toning and minimal,sporadic pale blue felt-tip pen ink parentheses - individual square bracket (thus ]),and/or underlining annotations to some text in page edges/margins on some pages - i.e. pp23, pp28/29, pp31, pp38/39, pp43,and pp48/49 - but no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips.Publisher's generally sharp-cornered - exception of rear lower corner which is lightly bumped,original plain pale grey paper-covered boards with a couple of blemishes - a spot stain and some mottling to front lower corner - both on front board only.Spine/backstrip with capitalised, red lettering,rear board plain,undecorated and without blemish,a red+yellow chequered headband and generally clean,plain white endpapers.Lower corner of front pastedown with some staining,acquired from concomitant internal water stain to dw/dj front inner flap and transferred to the board's corner. US,slim, small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,1-118pp [paginated] includes an Introduction by Thomas M. Messer (Director - Guggeheim Museum),4 essays by the artist; Asphyxiating Culture, Demagnetization of Brains, A Word About the Company of Raw Art, and Remarks on the Unveiling of the Goup of Four Trees,4 contemporary b/w photographs includes subject's b/w portrat photographic frntis - the others works of his art; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a Contents list/table with blank verso,and subject's portrait photograph frntis,and to the rear as last page, publisher advert for other published titles. Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable,and even internally,the book is also in a more than acceptable condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age. It is only the minimal faults described that prevents a slightly higher grading overall for each part - dw/dj and book.Despite them,it really is still an acceptable copy.Described, honestly and fairly,much better than it actually reads or sounds. This is the first full-length work of Jean Dubuffet's to be translaated into EnglishThe essence of the French artist's philosophy is captured in these writings.Known for his spontaneity,his humour and irreverance,the French sculptor and painter was the champion of what he called art brut - "raw art",the principles of which have influenced many of today's artists.Although Dubuffet argued for the spontaneous in art,he developed a cogent philosophy to back his ideas,and he soon won many admirers.In France,where he is esteemed both as a philosopher and a visual artist,he is ranked among the best of essayists. Included besides the main essay "Asphyxiating Culture" are "Demagnetization of the Brain", 'Remarks on the Unveiling of The Group of Four Trees" and "Noice of the 'Raw Art' Group." Jean Dubuffet began painting at the age of seventeen and studied briefly at the Académie Julian,Paris. But after seven years,he abandoned painting and became a wine merchant. During the thirties,he painted again for a short time, but it was not until 1942 that he began the work which has distinguished him as an outstanding innovator in postwar European painting. Dubuffet looked to the margins of the everyday - the art of prisoners,psychics, the uneducated,and the institutionalized - to liberate his own creativity.In doing so,he coined the term "Art Brut" as a reflection of the creative possibilities outside the conventions of the day. His paintings from the early forties in brightly colored oils were soon followed by works in which he employed such unorthodox materials as cement,plaster,tar,and asphalt-scraped, carved and cut and drawn upon with a rudimentary, spontaneous line. At his death in 1985,at the age of 84,Jean Dubuffet was acknowledged to be one of the most important artists of the post-war generation.A wine merchant turned art rebel,the 43-year-old Dubuffet had his first one-man show in Paris in 1944, with the Germans barely departed.Violently anti-tradition when many of the French longed for a return to normalcy,Dubuffet antaagonized the art establishment with his dynamic style - and his articulate arguments justifying his new way of thinking. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **