Through the viewfinder

Twenty artists from ten countries were invited by De Appel to participate in the exhibition based on a poem by Raymond Russel from 1897: 'Sometimes a momentary reflection comes to life In the view set into the base of the pen-holder Which my wide-open eye is pressed against very close, just functionally back from it The view is a very slender photograph Completely invisible if one relies On the depth of the glass, this piece of which is frosted on one of its sides, in this case the back But it all swells up when a more curious eye Comes close enough for a lash at times to touch.' Antje von Graevenitz wrote in her article 'Intimacy and detachment' in the catalogue of Through the viewfinder: 'Most of [the participating artists] are well under fourty. That makes them part of the generation of artists who have distanced themselves from modernism's empathetic belief in being able to build a better world by way of art. Any inkling of this is regarded with suspicion by them; their work is rather an invitation to take in the world from close range. Whether or not the artist's view of this expands to illusionary dimensions is another matter. Everything hinges on the degree of identification, involvement and intimacy.' Catalogue: Through the viewfinder, 1992. Christiaan Bastiaans, Biefer/Zgraggen, Sylvie Blocher, Patrick Corillon, Hubert Duprat, Philippe Favier, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, David Hodges, Massimo Kaufmann, Karen Kilimnik, Suchan Kinoshita, Rudy J. Luijters, Tatsuo Miyajima, Annemarie Nibbering, Cornelia Parker, Hermann Pitz, Sam Samore, Vincent Shine and Mans Wrange. Text: Antje von Graevenitz. Dutch & English. 80 Pages: 12 f.c., 23 b.w., 15 x 10.3 cm. Softcover. Design: Irma Boom. ISBN 90 7350 13 X. € 9,-.