Beyond Books
is the first publication to focus on the books and printed matter of Alighiero Boetti (1940–94), including his artist's books, posters, exhibition invitations and work emerging from his long association with the newspaper
Il Manifesto
. Printed matter, text and language were critical for the artist, who believed "if you really want something, get it down in writing." A pioneer of the artist's book, Boetti used the particularities of the format to penetrate beyond surface appearances—for example in his legendary 1977 book
Classifying the Thousand Longest Rivers in the World
, which lists the world's longest rivers and their lengths in a deadpan attempt to order the disorderly natural world. This volume explores the development of a new concept of the book in Boetti's oeuvre, where reading and looking become part of the same aesthetic experience.