The beginning was in 1978 when Richard Artschwager created a annual edition from his Blips series for the Hamburger Kunstverein. In the 1990s, some of the series’ certificates landed in the trash, discovered by the artist Till Krause and then, in 2016, passed on to Max Schaffer. Schaffer was especially interested in the thin tissue paper laid between the sheets as protection. Since 1978, the tissue paper had absorbed the ink, reproducing the printed characters of the originals and resulting in mirror-inverted subtle imprints of words like “Artschwager” or “Zertifikat”.
Responding to Till Krause’s initiative and taking literally the idea behind the annual edition, Schaffer framed the tissue paper pieces and presented them as a gift to the GAK. This process will be continued by the GAK giving them to five interested parties without charging a price. In return, the new owners must sign a contract declaring that after one year, they will altruistically pass on the works and notify the GAK of the works’ new locations. The new owners will be obliged to do the same. And the next ones… This way, the trajectory of the works will be retraceable like “blips”.
Annual edition 2016
Untitled (Blip), 1978-2016
Imprint on tissue paper (framed)
10.3 x 17.4 cm (sheet)
5 unique works; with certificate and agreement