The Esopus Foundation Ltd. is pleased to anounce the publication of Modern Artifacts, a 354-page book featuring treasures from the Museum of Modern Art Archives accompanied by six commissioned artists’ projects. 

The book features all 18 installments of the eponymous series that appeared in issues of Esopus—several of which are sold out—from 2006 to 2019. The “Modern Artifacts” series featured items reproduced in facsimile from MoMA’s extraordinary collection—ranging from documentation related to never-before-realized exhibitions to pages from the Museum’s first guest book—curated and introduced by MoMA’s Chief of Archives, Library, and Research Collections Michelle Elligott.

Six contemporary artists—Mary Ellen Carroll, Rhea Karam, Mary Lum, Clifford Owens, Michael Rakowitz, and Paul Ramirez Jonas—will contribute projects related to a particular aspect of the archives. These contributions—many incorporating removable inserts—will appear throughout the book, which will also include an introductory essay by Elligott and a foreword by Esopus editor Tod Lippy. 

Modern Artifacts, the second publication from the Esopus Books imprint, is to be distributed by Distributed Art Publishers (DAP) and will be in bookstores in May 2020. 

Modern Artifacts
Published by Esopus Books
352 pages, 235 color illustrations
ISBN: 9780989911771
USD $60.00