The Book of Shapes, 2010

Basel 2017
The Book of Shapes

michèle didier

Work on Paper
Set of 2 volumes
28.9 x 22.6 x 13.0 （厘米）
11.4 x 8.9 x 5.1 （吋）
Allan McCollum "The Book of Shapes" 2010 2 volumes Volume I: 632 pages, volume II: 360 pages 27.9 × 21.6 cm each Limited edition of 70 sets of 2 volumes and 10 artist’s proofs Certificate numbered and signed by the artist Produced and published in 2010 by mfc-michèle didier ©2010 Allan McCollum and mfc-michèle didier This book completes "The Shapes Project", a project initiated by Allan McCollum in 2005: The artist created a system for producing over 31 billion different shapes, made from the combination of six groups of type-elements. Each shape is destined to be assigned to a single individual. Volume I contains all the patterns, while volume II includes the guides for creating all possible combinations. Finding its method in the analysis of mass production, "The Shapes Project" proposes a paradox: the artist’s wish to produce a work of art at a massive scale, but at the same time ensuring that none of these objects, although created from the same mold, are identical. "The Book of Shapes" lets us grasp the magnitude of this ambitious plan.