Badlands Unlimited announce the publication of Marcel Duchamp: The Afternoon Interviews by Calvin Tomkins. In 1964, Tomkins spent a number of afternoons interviewing Duchamp in his apartment on West 10th Street in New York.
Casual yet insightful, Duchamp reveals himself as a man and an artist whose playful principles toward living freed him to make art that was as unpredictable, complex, and surprising as life itself. Duchamp mused on everything from paying taxes to his feelings about art dealers and younger generations of artists like Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage. The interviews became source material for Tomkins’s 1965 profile of the iconic artist in the New Yorker, and later in his definitive 1996 biography, Duchamp. But they have never been edited and made public until now. The Afternoon Interviews, which includes an introductory interview with Tomkins reflecting on Duchamp as an artist, guide and friend, reintroduces the reader to key ideas of his artistic world and renews Duchamp as a vital model for a new generation of artists. The enhanced Apple e-book edition includes five audio clips, including four from the original 1964 recording of the interview and a never-before-heard clip of Tomkins in 2012 telling a very funny story about Duchamp.
About the author
Calvin Tomkins was born in 1925 in Orange, New Jersey. He joined the New Yorker as a staff writer in 1960. His many profiles include John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, Leo Castelli, Damien Hirst, Richard Serra, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman and Jasper Johns. Tomkins is the author of 12 books, including The Bride and the Bachelors (1965), Living Well Is the Best Revenge (1971), Lives of the Artists (2008) and Duchamp: A Biography (1996).
Upcoming events
The Independent Art Fair in New York, March 7-10
ARTBOOK | D.A.P. will be running a pop-up bookstore inside the Christian Wassmann-designed tent on the rooftop of the Independent Art Fair. Please visit the ARTBOOK booth to browse a curated selection of books on emerging, overlooked and essential artists related to the fair, including the patron saint of independent artmaking, Marcel Duchamp. The ARTBOOK store is pleased to offer a free, bizarre but adorable limited edition LENTICULAR POSTCARD with the purchase of The Afternoon Interviews, courtesy of Badlands Unlimited.
Debate on Duchamp’s legacy at the Armory Show, March 8, 5pm
Join Badlands Unlimited publisher Paul Chan, Carlos Basualdo, Daniel Birnbaum, Molly Nesbit, and moderator Jan Åman as they debate Duchamp’s legacy in conjunction with the release of The Afternoon Interviews and the launch of the English translation of a book on Ulf Linde, who in 1961 produced the first authorized copy of Marcel Duchamp’s monumental piece, The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even. This panel will be held on Friday, March 8, at 5pm in the Open Forum at the 2013 Armory Show.
Calvin Tomkins in conversation with Paul Chan at 192 Books, March 12, 7pm
Join Calvin Tomkins and Paul Chan at 192 Books in New York as they discuss the making of The Afternoon Interviews. Tomkins will talk about Duchamp as an artist, guide and friend, and reflect on the key ideas of his artistic world and how they continue to inspire and provoke (in equal measure) artists working today. Seating is limited. Please call 212-255-4022 to make reservations. Books purchased at the reading will be signed by the author.
About Badlands Unlimited
Founded by Paul Chan in 2010, Badlands Unlimited publishes e-books, limited edition paper books, and artist works in digital and print forms. Historical distinctions between books, files, and artworks are dissolving rapidly. We publish and produce new works by artists and writers that embody the spirit of this emerging dissolution. We make books in an expanded field.
For more information
Badlands Unlimited
IRL: PO Box 320310, Brooklyn, NY 11232
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.badlandsunlimited.com
