© rebecca fanuele
Howdy Bamington,2011
Edition of 30 copies + 12 E.A + 4 H.C
Price upon request.
Published by &: Christophe & Nathalie Daviet-Thery,2011,Paris.
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In 2008 John Bock was approached by editor Christophe Daviet-Thery with the idea of creating an artist’s book. John Bock was initially inspired by a Japanese children’s book shaped like an insect, which morphed into his first idea of creating a book in the shape of his own silhouette, featuring a classic studio portrait on the cover. He later rejected this idea as too confining, and eventually arrived at a subsequent meeting with Christophe in Berlin with a doll-like figure tucked in the child seat of his bicycle. From that point on Bock’s book project evolved into a collection of standing figures or “puppet” – each stylized and patterned individually by the artist and his personal tailor, adormed with unique and colorful headgear, and equiped with hand-embroidered cloth “books” inspired by Japanese scrolls.
With Howdy Bamington John Bock has produced a project where the impulse to design a more traditional book eventually evolved into the complex fabrication of a self-portrait of the artist as a ” puppet” – a figure of uncommon humor, innocence, and personal style. John Bock’s “puppet” are conceptually connected to the notions of performance, provocation, and manipulation – all central to his pratice.
Christophe Daviet-Thery of CDT Éditions is most content when challenging the definition of a book. Though a collaborative process,CDT Éditions encourages artists to push the boundaries of what a book can be by offering them the opportunity to experiment with this medium.
John Bock (B.1965. Gribbolm- Germany) lives and works in Berlin. Recent solo shows and “lectures ” took place at Anton Kern Gallery, New York (2010); Barbican Art Gallery,London, UK (2010); and Tempräte Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany (2010). John Bock has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the 17th Sydney Biennal, Australia (2010); New Museum, New York (2010); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2009 and 2008); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2009); Venice Biennal, Italy (2005 and 1999); Lyon Biennal, France (2005); Manifesta 5, San Sebastien (2004); and Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany (2002), among many others.
Christophe Daviet-Thery Éditions would like to thank Lotte Moeller and the Klosterfeld Gallery in Berlin; Nathalie Rajo-Harrison; Grazi Masson and Isabelle Vogelgesang in Paris, Caisserie Chanussot in Dijon for their contribution and support for this exhibition. John Bock is represented by Anton Kern Gallery, New York and Regen Projects, Los Angeles.
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