{"product_id":"the-book-about-xu-bings-book-from-the-ground-isbn-9780262027427","title":"The Book about Xu Bing's Book from the Ground","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe creation of Xu Bing's Book from the Ground documented and described in text, images, and photographs. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the pictogram-only narrative in Xu Bing's \u003ci\u003eBook from the Ground\u003c\/i\u003e can be read by anyone, there is much more to the story of Xu Bing's wordless book than can be gleaned from icons alone. This companion volume to \u003ci\u003eBook from the Ground \u003c\/i\u003echronicles the entire project, mapping the history of Xu Bing's novel creation from inspiration to exhibition to publication.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the 1980s, Xu Bing created \u003ci\u003eBook from the Sky\u003c\/i\u003e. Using garbled and nonsensical faux-Chinese characters, this installation expressed Xu's doubts about written language and provoked questions about the Chinese language. Thirty years later, with \u003ci\u003eBook from the Ground\u003c\/i\u003e, the artist expresses his hope for a single, universally understood language. Inspired by airport signs that communicate instantaneously through images—directing a temporary community of modern nomads where to eat, shop, sit, and find a bathroom—Xu began to collect images, icons, and logos from which he could construct a story. This book describes Xu's research, showing notebook pages and bulletin boards full of clipped-out images; offers commentary by the artist and discussions of reading, alphabets and languages; documents, with text and photographs, exhibitions and installations connected to the work (including a \u003ci\u003eBook from the Ground \u003c\/i\u003epop-up concept store); provides a list of works; describes Xu's “icon lab”; and “translates” Xu's pictographic narrative into English. \u003c\/p\u003eMathieu Borysevicz is an artist, writer, curator, and filmmaker based in Shanghai. His work has been shown at such venues as the Tribeca Film Festival; the Institute of Contemporary Art, London; the Bauhaus, Dessau; MASS MoCA; and the Israeli Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. His writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eArtforum\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArt in America\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArt Asia Pacific\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300688842981,"sku":"NP9780262027427","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262027427_05a66162-8979-4644-9f6d-d923e90da1c8.jpg?v=1742921041","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-book-about-xu-bings-book-from-the-ground-isbn-9780262027427","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}