MAT MOT

In 1965 Daniel Spoerri and Karl Gerstner introduced a new subedition to Edition MAT. Marketed as a “literary counterpart,” MAT MOT (mot is French for “word”) comprised a series of interactive language objects that explore the space between literary and visual expression. With this additional collection of works, the scope of Edition MAT notably expanded to include several artists linked to Fluxus, a group whose members shared an interest in collapsing the boundaries between language, music, performance, and the visual arts. Each work in MAT MOT is presented in an identical box that doubles as a carrying case. The standard format put a productive restriction on participating artists, “a bit like having a black box that the artist could use to do whatever he wanted inside,” Spoerri explained. These small, portable objects could function “like books in a library… or records in a record collection,” taken out, displayed, and played with as tools for creating poetry of one’s own.

Image credit

Robert Filliou (French, 1926–1987), I was telling Marianne, 1965. Cloth-covered box containing 96 printed paper cards and wood tray, 66/261, box: 11 x 11 x 1 1/2 in. (28 x 28 x 3.8 cm) (closed), cards: 3 15/16 x 2 in. (10 x 5 cm) each. Edition MAT MOT no. 2. Published by Karl Gerstner and Daniel Spoerri. Fabricated by Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.