The Big Book

This important publication provides a first time document and re-visitation of artist Alison Knowles classic Fluxus project, The Big Book (1967). An eight-foot tall walk-in construction, it was comprised of a title page and eight moveable pages anchored to a metal spine, each equipped with casters. The book contained a stove, a telephone, a bed, a toilet, a library, a guestbook, a gallery with works by artist friends, a lush meadow, a ventilator and other assorted utensils. It was given its first public airing at the Something Else Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Following this first exhibition, the book travelled to various venues in Europe, Canada and the United States, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Frankfurt am Main and The Jewish Museum, New York. In the course of these travels, the book s condition gradually deteriorated so that by the time it reached the final venue, only a few pages remained.