DEBBY WYE: Hanne Darboven's subject matter is the passage of time. Sometimes she’ll show it by simply writing the date over and over, every day. Other times she’ll draw, in a cursive script that suggests writing, but doesn’t actually say anything. In these nine prints from a series of fourteen she emphasizes the sequential, time-based aspect of her work by writing across separate sheets that are experienced one at a time, as in reading.
WENDY WEITMAN: Language actually emerged as an important motif for artists in the late 60s, coinciding with a more idea-based approach to making art. Books were a natural extension of this interest in language, and many artists turned to the book format to convey the passage of time -- simply, of course, it takes time to turn the pages, but also, seeing images in sequence, one by one, suggests a narrative, time-based experience.
DEBBY WYE: Besides making drawings, prints and artist’s books, Darboven took part in an innovative project involving the British art journal called Studio International. In the case beneath the print series, is a large bound volume of Studio Internationals, open to a page-art project Darboven did for the magazine. By including a printed art component in one of its issues, this widely circulated journal challenged the traditional ways that people see art -- and also the very nature of the art object. When all of the page-art projects in this issue are seen together, they become a new kind of exhibition. In fact, anyone buying this particular Studio International became an art collector.