Familiar stock pieces from the American mass media such as the Marlboro cowboys, bare-chested blondes from biker magazines and cartoons with sexist captions taken from the rainbow press - these are the materials the artist Richard Prince likes to "recycle" for his works. These icons of mass culture are then processed - photographed, fragmented and copied down, or their format altered - and transformed into works of art. By appropriating a reality artificially staged by the media, Prince assesses and catalogs everyday life in America with an archivist's cool gaze. In this way, the artist returns a piece of life to these much abused types; the Marlboro cowboy now rides across the prairie free of all consumerist underpinnings. The concept and design of these large-format artist's books are by Richard Prince himself. They present the artist's own, ultimate selection of pieces characteristic of his oeuvre. The two volumes are dedicated to the areas of photography and painting and include full-page reproductions as well as accompanying booklets of commentary. Exhibition Schedule: Richard Prince - Photographs Museum für Gegenwartskunst Basel December 8. - February 24, 2002 · Richard Prince - Paintings Kunsthalle Zürich February 1 - April 1, 2002 · Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg May 3 - August 4, 2002