Two Books Probe Art as Thought and Action: Matta-Clark Interviews and Ballard SF Connection

Two recent publications explore how artists articulate their practice through interviews and writings. "Gordon Matta-Clark Entretiens" (Éditions Lutanie) collects six interviews from 1974–1978, revealing the artist's precise thinking on space, "anarchitecture," and the rejection of functionalism. Matta-Clark's statements—such as "the major difference between architecture and sculpture is the presence or absence of plumbing"—demonstrate his integration of conceptual and practical gestures. The book traces his exploration of intervals between 2D and 3D, his social engagement, and his cosmological approach to voids. Meanwhile, "Art et Science-fiction : la Ballard Connection" (Éditions Mamco, edited by Valérie Mavridorakis) examines the cross-pollination between art and science fiction in the 1950s–60s. It includes texts by Peter Hutchinson, Robert Smithson, and others, with a focus on J.G. Ballard's influence. The anthology starts from Eduardo Paolozzi's 1952 ICA lecture, which spurred the Independent Group. Members like John McHale described their activity as "a kind of inquiry—in a sense historical, but also aiming, in a certain way, to demolish history." The book rethinks art history through the lens of fiction, tracing a transatlantic dialogue between the UK and US.