Praise for Waiting for Godot in New Orleans
“Spellbinding” — Artforum
“An unforgettable example of ephemeral public art.” — The Nation
“An art project that had everything, or at least a lot: objects, words, images, ideas, emotions, discourse, actions, lessons, beauty, politics, criticality and generosity.”
— The New York Times
Badlands Unlimited is pleased to announce the publication of Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Field Guide, enhanced e-book edition, edited by Paul Chan. This e-book is now available on Apple iBooks (for the iPad and iPhone) and Amazon (for the Kindle).
In November 2007, artist Paul Chan collaborated with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and New York public arts group Creative Time to mount free performances of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot on the streets of New Orleans. Two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleanians were still waiting for help to recover and rebuild. Godot rang with fierce immediacy, and thousands attended the play, which starred New Orleans native and television star Wendell Pierce (HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire).
Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Field Guide, publishes for the first time the materials produced and gathered during the making of this multifaceted project, which included the free outdoor performances; theater workshops, educational seminars, conversations, and dinners; a Shadow Fund; and a short film. The book includes the staging diagrams, preparatory drawings, extensive photo documentation, essays and interviews with key project members, and audio recordings from the production.
Students, teachers, and scholars in the field of contemporary art, performance, theater, and cultural studies will find Waiting for Godot in New Orleans an invaluable practical and theoretical resource for understanding how contemporary art, performance, and social practice can engage with a wider public. The book unfolds like an imaginative roadmap that details how art can respond to, and reflect upon, political landscapes large and small.
Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Field Guide features:
• Over 200 photographs, drawings, and illustrations that detail the making of Godot in New Orleans.
• New essays and interviews by key project members, including Paul Chan, Christopher McElroen (Classical Theatre of Harlem) and Nato Thompson (Creative Time).
• Essays by Susan Sontag, Terry Eagleton, and Alain Badiou that illuminate the social and philosophical dimensions of Samuel Beckett’s work.
• Interviews with artists, collaborators, and community members from New Orleans offering insight into how the city responded to Godot.
• New audio compositions by Chan that accompanied the premiere of the Waiting for Godot in New Orleans archive at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in June 2010 (Apple version only).
Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Field Guide
Enhanced e-book edition with color images and audio content
Edited by Paul Chan (340 pages, 2011, Badlands Unlimited and Creative Time Books)
E-book ISBN: 978-1-936-44004-7
Now available on Apple iBooks and Amazon
Hardcover edition also available at all fine independent bookshops
About the author
Paul Chan is an artist who lives and works in New York. His work has been exhibited widely in many international shows including: Making Worlds, 53rd Venice Biennale, Venice, 2009; Medium Religion, ZKM, Karlsruhe, 2008; Traces du sacrê, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2008; 16th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, 2008; 10th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2007; The Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, 2006; and Paul Chan: The 7 Lights, Serpentine Gallery, London and New Museum, New York 2007–2008. Chan’s essays and interviews have appeared in Artforum, Frieze, Flash Art, October, Tate etc, Parkett, Texte Zur Kunst, Bomb, and other magazines and journals.
About Badlands Unlimited
Founded in 2010, Badlands Unlimited publishes e-books, limited edition paper books, and artist works in digital and print forms. Historical distinctions between books, files, and artworks are dissolving rapidly. Badlands publishes and produces new works by artists and writers that embody the spirit of this emerging dissolution. We make books in an expanded field.
www.badlandsunlimited.com
Find us on Facebook
Email us at [email protected]
