Digital—even before this word signified research-based processing, its original meaning referred to "the fingers." The same goes for the artists Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov, whose Image Bank, founded in 1969, did not consist of ones and zeros but entirely of postal handwork. With the intent of a decentralized and network-based circulation and exchange of images, they anticipated the structures of today’s image databases on the Internet. Moreover, from sending, receiving, and collecting, a multifaceted and expansive oeuvre formed, whose creator is no longer a single person, but a collective movement. Away from established institutions such as museums or galleries, a utopia of non-hierarchical and free exchange of images first took shape here, which has lost nothing of its topicality even from today’s perspective.

The artist VINCENT TRASOV (*1947, Edmonton, CA) is known for his photographic, video and painting works as well as for his performances. Between 1969 and 1974 he appeared as Planters Mr. Peanut's brand mascot and worked with his friend MICHEAL MORRIS (*1946, Saltdean, UK) on projects other than the Image Bank.

EXHIBITION 
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
June 22—September 1, 2019

Exhibition schedule: Albertina, Vienna, March 14–June 30, 2013 | The Art Institute of Chicago

Presenting for the first time complementary holdings from the internationally renowned drawing collections of the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, and the Kupferstichkabinett, Basel, this volume is a singular overview of drawings from the beginning of the German Renaissance to the mid-sixteenth century. In this period of transition from the late Middle Ages to the early modern age, craftsmen and artists emerged from the traditional anonymity of their trade. They began consciously to reflect on their role in society, and took a more humanist view of nature in their work. They chose to depict dramatic events rather than biblical allegories and saints, using detailed perspective and natural scenery. In addition to drawings by three of the most accomplished artists of this era - Albrecht D³rer, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Matthias Gr³newald, this book includes three who worked in D³rer's workshop - Hans Baldung, Hans von Kulmbach, and Hans Schõufelein; the Swiss artists Urs Graf and Niklaus Manuel; and the master of the Danube school, Albrecht Altdorfer, Erhard Altdorfer, and Wolf Huber. This exceptional survey presents twenty-five artists altogether, each represented by descriptive analysis and color reproductions of their work. (English edition available ISBN 3-7757-0848-0)

Exhibition schedule: Albertina, Vienna, March 14–June 30, 2013 | The Art Institute of Chicago

Dutch artist Marcel van Eeden (*1965) has completed a drawing a day since 1993. He interprets photographs and texts produced before 1965, which happen to catch his eye during his visits to book dealers, archives, and libraries. He has created hundreds of small-format works that make the time before his birth seem present before our very eyes. With fascinating vividness, they show people and places that seem to be oddly still and yet could spring to life at any moment. One of the strongest effects of van Eeden’s drawings is that they give viewers the feeling of being part of an old black-and-white film. The artist calls his life’s work the “encyclopedia of my death.” He creates an archive of images of lost time that has been regained through his works. In duotone quality, the volume features a collection of approximately 140 virtuoso drawings by van Eeden, in which he provides a fictitious biography for K. M. Wiegand, who, history verifies, was actually a botanist.

Exhibition schedule: 4^th berlin biennial for contemporary art, Berlin, March 25–June 5, 2006