Suzanne Ramljak Bücher

Works by nearly 100 of today's most prominent artists—including Willie Cole, Mark Dion, Mona Hatoum, Peter Saul, Yinka Shonibare, and Laurie Simmons—raise questions about the many issues that firearms trigger, leaving answers up to the reader. This invigorating survey of contemporary art and guns offers insight into the mixed associations of firearms in our culture. Situating these artworks within the contexts of fire domestication, weapon history, social movements, and art history, the book touches on subjects of power, equality, and access, and the current debates surrounding gun use. What emerges is the inherently dualistic nature of firearms, which are both protective and destructive, empowering and enfeebling, supporting peace and war, life and death. While this central ambivalence can't be captured in statistical data or media sound bites, it thrives within these complex visual works. This collection reveals a striking diversity of viewpoints on guns, highlighting their inescapable duplicity and the compelling role they have come to play within our lives and imaginations.

The collection showcases 60 unique pieces of studio jewelry that blend decorative and fine arts, reflecting a rich history from the early 1960s to the present. These works engage with various jewelry-making traditions and 20th-century art movements, including Conceptual art and Surrealism. Most pieces are previously unpublished and highlight the collector's aesthetic of wit, elegance, and imagination. Designed to be worn, they create an interactive experience between the jewelry and the wearer, emphasizing both technical skill and artistic expression.

Artists such as Maya Lin, Roxy Paine, and Dustin Yellin show the impact of human interventionon our ecosystem through a mix of installations, video, photography, and sculpture. Natural Wonders spotlights the works of thirteen artists who work in various media to depict themes of nature-both its beauty and its more disquieting aspects-from painting and sculpture to 3-D landscapes and botanical replications to dioramas and lenticular prints. The range of works encourages us to be more attentive to our natural surroundings and address timely issues such as habitat loss, environmental toxins, bioengineering, and increasing alienation from nature. Ramljak's essay provides a broad cultural and historical context for the contemporary artworks, complemented by artist statements and an interview between environmentally minded artists Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman.

„Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld“ begleitet die erste Doppelausstellung der beiden eng miteinander verbundenen Künstler. Der Band lädt ein zu einem spannenden Panorama ökologischer Themen, die im Zentrum ihrer beider hochgelobter Arbeiten stehen, und bietet faszinierende Einblicke in die bedrohte Natur. Mark Dion und Alexis Rockman gehörten zu den ersten zeitgenössischen Kunstschaffenden, die ökologische Probleme thematisierten und vorausahnten, mit denen wir heute in epischen Dimensionen konfrontiert sind. Der Band zeigt rund 25 Skulpturen und Gemälde der beiden Künstler, dazu ausgewählte Arbeiten auf Papier und ein gemeinsam neu gestaltetes großformatiges Diorama. In der Einleitung, einem Essay von Lucy R. Lippard und einem neuen Doppelinterview geht es um unser belastetes Verhältnis zur Umwelt und um die absehbaren Folgen der herrschenden Ideologien für die Natur.