Christian Marclay — Phaidon Contemporary Artists Series, 2005

Condition as photographed.

A substantial survey published during a pivotal period in Christian Marclay’s career, bringing together sculpture, photography, installation, video, performance, and sound works produced before his international breakthrough with The Clock. Includes an extended interview with Kim Gordon alongside an essay by Jennifer González, a survey by Matthew Higgs, an artist’s choice on Blaise Cendrars, and Marclay’s own writings.

The publication reflects the interdisciplinary world from which Marclay emerged, where contemporary art, experimental music, punk culture, and conceptual practice continuously overlapped. Richly illustrated with installations assembled from cassette tapes, altered vinyl records, photographic works, and sculptural interventions, it remains one of the strongest single-volume introductions to his practice.

Published in 2005, the volume captures an important midpoint in Marclay’s career, documenting works from the late 1970s through the early 2000s — including his manipulated vinyl records, cassette tape installations, photographic collages, and early video pieces — before The Clock (2010) brought him widespread institutional recognition. Kim Gordon’s interview is particularly significant: coming from one of experimental music’s most influential figures, it situates Marclay within a shared cultural landscape of punk, improvisation, appropriation, and visual art.

Produced as part of Phaidon’s celebrated Contemporary Artists series, the book has become increasingly sought after by collectors of contemporary art publications and artists’ monographs. It records an important stage in Marclay’s development before his work entered the mainstream institutional canon, preserving the analogue concerns that continue to define his influence on subsequent generations of artists.

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