Vincent Borrelli, Bookseller

Robert Heinecken: Just Good Eats For U Diner, Limited Edition (Portfolio of 8 Lithographs) [SIGNED]

HEINECKEN, Robert

Publisher: Los Angeles: Robert Heinecken, 1971
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: No binding
Condition: As New / No dust jacket as issued
Item #: 111626

$7,500.00

Specifics

First limited edition of 100 copies (this being number 41). Signed and numbered 41/100 and dated "Los Angeles Nov 71" in pencil on the lower right corner recto the first sheet by Heinecken. Artist's portfolio of eight offset color lithographs and a descriptive text sheet in the form of a classic diner menu on matt art paper; sandwiched between two identical screenprinted reproductions of a 1968 cowboy kitsch painting by "Grandee," mounted to heavy cardboard; all contained in a clear vinyl envelope with black sewn vinyl edges and decorative brass corner grommets and an additional grommet along one edge that is, according to the artist, "provided for wall hanging." "Documentary Photograms" [of food] and faux menu text by Robert Heinecken. 13-1/8 x 11-1/2 inches. Out of print. Very scarce.

Condition

As New.

Description

Robert Heinecken is one of the most innovative and influential post-war American artists. Influenced by Dada and Surrealism, especially Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and John Heartfield, A self described “para-photographer,” always challenging traditional notions of the “medium” of photography, Heinecken often combined lithography, etching, photographic emulsion on sculptural objects such as puzzle-works, and photograms. His source materials included images taken directly from television screens, popular “lifestyle” magazines, advertising, pornography and news photographs, to transform notions of consumerism, war, eroticism and mass media. He was a seminal influence on postmodern photographic practices of the 1980s, more than a decade before it was embraced by the contemporary commercial art world. The pseudo menu by Heinecken intersperses explanatory text in black ink, with typical diner fare listed in brown ink.

From the artist: "This suite of eight original lithographs were printed by the artist using the offset method. The work represents five typical feeding times of the American middle class. Breakfast, Coffee Break, Lunch, Cocktails and Dinner were selected as the U S of A table d' hôte. The original skiagraphic images were made by exposing actual foods/meals to light sensitive materials, which were then transferred to aluminum plates. The final lithographic prints are on Rives heavyweight paper in black and (chocolate) brown ink. They consist of various food/meal combinations resulting from an exploration of the aleatory nature of the printing phase. Each of the portfolios in the edition of 100 were made from the same initial set of pictures but no two prints are identical and no two portfolios contain exactly the same prints. 50 artist's proof of indivual [sic] prints were also made..." One of Heinecken's disarmingly wry, delightful, yet richly sophisticated and intellectually nourishing projects.