Event

The Preparation of the Novel (Book Lovers 5.0)
18 July 2014 - 05 September 2014

Fabra i Coats - Centre d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona

The Preparation of the Novel is the title of a new instalment in The Book Lovers project, which makes direct reference to Roland Barthes’ transcription of the series of lectures that he carried out at the Collège de France between 1978 and 1980. In it, Barthes inquires on the conditions under which a writer writes. He approaches the process of writing a novel –his own novel- as a fantasy, and he wonders about the desire-to-write. Barthes turned a solitary enterprise, such as the writing of a novel, into a collective event. He organized a series of public lectures in which all his doubts, hesitations and mistakes emerged, sharing with the public a moment of great vulnerability. Similarly to the writer’s, the artist’s creative process is usually carried out in the isolation of her studio. The spectator typically meets the artwork as a forceful end result. The exhibition unravels the relationship between two processes: the writing of a novel and its visual counterpart, the art project that is created in parallel. Artists will be artists. Although in their novels there might be references to a literary tradition, their approach is fundamentally coming from the visual arts. The creation of an artist novel doesn’t differ from any other artwork. Both processes feed each other as they evolve within the same body of works. 

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About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.