Antonin Artaud: Works on Paper

Antonin Artaud: Works on Paper was published to coincide with the exhibition of the same name at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The rubbed surfaces, burn marks, smears, and staccato bursts of line and color distinguish Artaud’s drawings from the work of other artists. Some of Artaud’s works, called “spells,” were letters to friends and enemies. Partially drawn, burnt, and stained, to be read recto/verso (front to back) these works became a catalyst in the design of the book. The spells are reproduced in the book recto/verso. The text pages in the catalogue are divided in half vertically. The page contains two columns of type with a large space between them, which is used for the many footnotes in the catalogue essay. These notes are aligned to their corresponding number in the text, creating their own erratic rhythm. Another significant feature of the catalogue is the typographic treatment of Artaud’s writing. The original French text is on the right and its English translation on the left, its symmetry recalling the recto/verso illustrations in the plate section. These arrangements create a kind of typographic Rorschach test, as well as preserving the use of spacing in Artaud’s text.