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Eat yourself fitter: John Latham and Clement Greenberg’s Art and Culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Simon Ford
Simon Ford*
Affiliation:
Victoria & Albert Museum, London SW7 2RL, UK
*
Email: s.ford@vam.ac.uk
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Abstract

In 1966 John Latham and some friends began chewing Clement Greenberg’s book Art and culture: collected essays. The resulting art work, entitled Art and Culture (1966-1969), is now recognised as a seminal conceptual art work and is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Latham, however, had borrowed the book from St. Martin’s School of Art library and when he was unable to return it in a suitable condition his teaching contract was not renewed. This essay looks at the history of the work, the ideas behind its creation, and the issues it raises for the culture of the book today.

Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , 2000 , pp. 40 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © The Art Libraries Society 1981

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References

1. Finch, Christopher. ‘On the absence of an avantgarde’. Art International vol. 10 no. 10 December 1966, p.23.Google Scholar
2. Greenberg, Clement. Art and culture: collected essays. Boston: Beacon Press, 1961. First published in paperback by Beacon Press in 1965. First published in Britain by Thames and Hudson in 1973.Google Scholar
3. Hamilton, Richard. ‘John Latham’. In: John Latham: early works, 1954-1912. London: Lisson Gallery, 1987, p.1–2. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Lisson Gallery, 14th January-14th March, 1987.Google Scholar
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