Dirk Dobke Book order

Existential basic considerations are the focus of Sonja Alhaeuser's work. It reveals the drama of life in all its abundance, manifested in lush sensu­alities and collective festivities all the way to a somber metabolism. In addition to her beautiful large-format, subtly colorized drawings, which can also be read as instructions for action or as recipes, the Berlin-based artist has become known to a wider public for her "Schokoladenmaschinen" (chocolate ­machines) and margarine sculptures in refrigerated display cases. For her feasts or "6 Bankette ohne Anlass" (6 banquets without cause), she invited ­diners to a near orgiastic obliteration of her installations, each one dedicated to a specific theme. The exuberant, sensually titillating arrangement of the panel installations with sculptures, hand-painted bunting, crustaceans such as lobsters and crayfish, excellent fish, or large cuts of venison is intended to not only help spur on culinary enjoyment, but also represents the general contradiction between our constant pursuit of pleasure deter­mining our lives just as much as our continuous desire for self-optimization.

Dieter Roth was a multifaceted artist, as Volume 3 in the series of books featuring works from the Dieter Roth Foundation makes abundantly clear. He worked in many media, and Books + Multiples includes over 200 artist's books, forty multiples, jewelry, films, videos, tapes, records, and posters produced over a fifty-year period. Beginning in the 1950s, Dieter Roth took the artist's book in new directions. Starting with op-art and visual poetry books, he then experimented with all aspects of offset printing and by the 1990s was producing "copy books," using photocopiers. His multiples were equally innovative, incorporating materials such as chocolate, sugar, and spices. Dieter Roth began filmmaking in his mid-twenties, and his interest in moving images and sound remained to the end. The jewelry editions shed light on a little known aspect of his early work, while the last section of the book shows all his poster designs. A touring exhibition of Dieter Roth's work will open at the Museum of Modern Art in March 2004. 750 color illustrations.