I READ

1.3 Natural paper and accompanied with natural wooden box
11 1/4 x 9 x 2 inches each (28.6 x 23.1 x 5.1 cm each)
Edition of 50
Signatures are double-stitched with linen thread
(Inventory #30071)

Unlike the three parts of the Trilogy, I GOT UP, I WENT and I MET, published respectively in 2008, 2007 and 2004, I READ by On Kawara is not a daily work but is connected to the Today Series, artwork gathering all the Date Paintings realized from 1966 to the eve of the death of the artist, in 2014.

If I READ also begins in 1966 and stops in 1995, the publishing of I READ post-mortem respects the last will of the artist to pursue the work until his death.

On both sides of each of the 3,272 lined paper sheets that make up the piece, On Kawara has meticulously pasted annotated and dated press cuttings. Pages are filled with juxtaposed or layered articles from daily newspapers. There are no apparent links between the cuttings themselves besides the date on which the events related took place, meaning the dates on the selected newspapers occasionally differ slightly from the one written on the top of the page belonging to I READ. Each sheet corresponds to a day when On Kawara completed a Date Painting. I READ is thus directly linked to the Today Series and each page is corresponding to a Date Painting. The artist’s interest in world news as well as the rhythm of the work of painting by On Kawara are revealed in I READ.

Set of 6 volumes – Total of 3,272 pages

Vol. 1 = 544 pages – The first volume begins on October 2, 1966 and ends on May 15, 1968

Vol. 2 = 544 pages – The second volume begins on May 16, 1968 and ends on February 24, 1971

Vol. 3 = 548 pages – The third volume begins on February 25, 1971 and ends on December 20, 1974

Vol. 4 = 544 pages – The fourth volume begins on December 21, 1974 and ends on December 21, 1980

Vol. 5 = 548 pages – The fifth volume begins on December 28, 1980 and ends on March 27, 1989

Vol. 6 = 544 pages – The sixth volume begins on april 9, 1989 and ends on December 28, 1995