Dieter Roth

Dieter Roth, Book BB, 1964

“My books thrive on the ever-changing relationships of tension between the pages,” Dieter Roth explained in reference to his hand-cut artist books. Book BB consists of red and green sheets of cardstock with vertical and horizontal slots of varying widths cut into the center. The square sheets are unbound and have no predetermined sequence or orientation, allowing them to be rearranged to create a new composition on each “reading.” Roth thought of these works less in terms of abstract visual art and “more as scores or literature,” to be activated intermittently in the form of a momentary action. He contributed similar books to the other two collections of Edition MAT―Book AA (1960) and Book CC (1965).

Image credit

Dieter Roth (German, 1930–1998), Book BB, 1964. 18 card stock sheets in a box, 2/50, box: 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 11/16 in. (40 x 40 x 1.8 cm) (closed); sheets: 15 1/8 x 15 1/8 in. (38.4 x 38.4 cm) each. Published by Edition MAT / Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, University purchase with funds from Aurelia Gerhard Schlapp, by exchange, 2013. © Dieter Roth Estate, courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.