RUSTIQUE
Artist book, 2022
17,5 x 24 cm, 64 pages
Offset, hardcover
English
Edition: 250
Published by Ness Books
RUSTIQUE is an artist book that revisits the life and work of French painter Jean-François Millet (1814–1875) through the lens of Swedish-Canadian visual artist Nicola Godman (1989- ). Both sharing an agricultural background the book puts forward the gaze towards rural life by artists who themselves are “born peasants” (to quote Millet). The book shows Godman’s photographs of today’s agriculture in the area of Barbizon, where Millet lived and died, as well as drawings of Millet’s paintings, accompanied by personal anecdotes. Included is a facsimile of the article “CITY VS. COUNTRY: The Rural Image in French Painting from Millet to Gauguin” written by American art historian Robert L. Herbert, published in Artforum 1970.
Graphic design: Émilie Ferrat - Espace Ness
Photo documentation: ©The Book Photographer
TEMPORARY COUNTRY LIFE
Project 2018-2019
10 day performance
21 x 30 cm, 20 pages
Offset
English
Performance and publication made in relation to the pop-up park Zomerpark in Amsterdam's business district the Zuidas. For the duration of ten days, the character Zuidas Cowboy investigated country culture in and around Zomerpark.
The publication tells the story of Zuidas Cowboy's sejour, with contributions by feminist art critic Sietske Roorda and historian Maarten Zwiers. Design by Bram van den Berg.
Photo documentation: ©The Book Photographer