Brouillard Anarchive [book + DVD-rom + DVD], ISBN: 978-2951813229, English, Japanese, French
In what format can a monograph be shaped in current times? It's an open question that deals with two main domains of problems: the content should be as complete as possible in every direction; and to prolong its intrinsic referential attitude, it should be accessible for as long as possible. This monograph gives a possible answer in the evolving tradition of Anarchive, a series of artist monographs meant as a portable archive. Curated by Anne-Marie Duguet, the books come with digital discs and are produced together with the artist, usually with rare or unpublished documents. Volume #5 is about Fujiko Nakaya, a remarkable artist who dedicated most of her artistic life to creating fog sculptures (more than fifty are presented here), intended to be enjoyed in public spaces. In the thick catalogue there are texts in three languages and pictures, plans, videos, maps of locations and other varied data documenting her work. In a separate internal case there are two DVDs. The first contains 13 videos (dating back to her intervention at the Pepsi Pavilion in 1970 to more recent ones). The second is a DVD-ROM, with a searchable database of her works including interviews, proposals, more than 600 pictures, 75 videos (including excerpts from her works), accessible via an interactive fog/cloud interface (designed by doubleNegatives), and updated with links on the web. The release contains a huge quantity of information, all very well integrated and mostly durable, as a portable archive should be.