The Producers; Daniel Spoerri (front) and Ben Kinmont, 25th International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, 2003, symposium at Cankarjev dom.
Photo: Bojan Salaj. MGLC Archive.
The one-day international symposium on the relationship between the artist and the publisher took place the day after the opening of the Biennial, on 11 June 2003. It was organised by Lionel Bovier and included the artists Daniel Spoerri, AA Bronson, John M Armleder, Ben Kinmont, Christophe Keller, Marko Pogačnik (all legends of the neo-avant-garde of the 1960s and 1970s) and Tadej Pogačar. It focused on the role of the multiple and the problem of distribution of artistic products of this kind. This was the first symposium in Slovenia that dealt with the above-mentioned issues in art.
“While the domain of multiplied works, from classic reproductive processes to ready-mades, has at its disposal specific production facilities, it is still based on an absence of precise definition. Nor are there fixed quantified standards, if you consider the many variations in the size of editions, editions of monotypes, and “original multiples. (…) The main question raised by the multiple lies in the destination of the art project, in what context it will be seen and by whom: multiples imply a multitude of options. While in the case of the unique art object the question is easily resolved, with a multiple these questions of destination, of context and viewer, must be addressed at the moment of creation.” (Lionel Bovier)