Raymond Pettibon: The Books 1978-1998

Edited by Roberto Ohrt. Essays by Roberto Ohrt and Uwe Koch.

For over twenty years, Raymond Pettibon's drawings have earned an international following for their fluid style and youthful, iconoclastic outlook. His work is acclaimed for its wit and erudite eccentricities, and reveals an affinity for a diverse group of authors, from Baudelaire to Henry James to Mickey Spillane, whose quotations abound in his drawings. This book is a catalogue raisonne of his artist books produced between 1978 and 1998, many of which are now extremely rare and highly collected in both the art world and underground music circles. Popularized by small, independent music labels and publishers like SST and Superflux, these booklets and zines were originally available only in very small print runs, edition sizes ranged from 30 to 150 copies, where Pettibon's rough yet cultivated style became synonymous with the late 70s and early 80s D.I.Y. aesthetic. Presenting over a hundred of Pettibon's publications, 32 printed in their entirety with two of these published for the first time, this very limited edition hardcover is a valuable look at the development of one of the most significant artists from the last quarter century.

"Pettibon is as serious about the racing form as he is about Wallace Stevens, he watches surfing videos as closely as Pasolini. For all its apparent casualness, there is no more erudite body of work in American art today." Suzanne Ghez and Ann Temkin