Michael Asher: There is Never Enough Time to Get Everything Said
by Thomas Lawson
In 1983 The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design published Michael Asher’s Writings 1973 – 1983 on Works 1969 – 1979. The book was edited by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, and in his preface he notes that the motive he and Asher shared was to make accessible an artistic project that was by its nature transient. As is typical for a small college press, the book was published in a small edition, and has long been out of print. For years students and fans have shared tattered PDFs, but now Primary Information has republished it, giving Thomas Lawson an opportunity to reconsider a number of projects that Asher completed in art school contexts, just as he was beginning a long career as a transformative teacher at CalArts.