Author Description

Published on the occasion of The Drawing Center's exhibition, Rirkrit Tiravanija: Demonstration Drawings presents a selection of nearly 100 works on paper from the artist's ongoing series of commissioned drawings derived from photographs of demonstrations published in the International Herald Tribune. While public protests and mass demonstrations are often associated with the politics of the 1960s, Tiravanija's ongoing project reconsiders their relevance in today's political climate. The Demonstration Drawings provide a perspectival view of collective actions, political protests, and popular sovereignty movements worldwide turning ephemeral images of strife and social conflict into documents of political aspiration. The book, number 79 in the Drawing Papers series, features a newly commissioned essay, Making the News New Again, by author and journalist David Rieff, as well as a text by the exhibition curator, Joao Ribas.