The Bad Son
  • artists' book
  • pictorial wrappers
  • offset-printed
  • sewn bound
  • duotone
  • 29.6 x 22 cm.
  • [156] pp.
  • edition size 30 (perhaps*) ; plus 1000 unsigned and unnumbered copies
  • signed and unnumbered

The Bad Son

[First Edition / "Special Edition"]

Harmony Korine

The Bad Son

description

* In 1998 Harmony Korine began bringing into Printed Matter copies of this amazing artist's book of photographs he said were taken without the consent of Macaulay Culkin during the filming of the music video he was making for Sonic Youth's song "Sunday." Basically the photos show a relaxed and playful Culkin and his then wife, Rachel Miner, simply goofing around during breaks in the filming along with a text by Korine which he attributed to Culkin. Harmony was pretty paranoid about the book. Let's just say he never told Culkin about his intent to make the book and Harmony had other reasons to be paranoid at the time that went beyond fear of Caulkin and his lawyers. In 1998 I wrote the following:

Exactly same as trade edition only this copy is signed and numbered by Korine, however, we are a little unclear about just how many copies of this book were actually signed by Korine. We stand behind the signature as being Korine's, but we're scratching our heads as why there are more than one copy of this book with identical numbering.

Obliquely I was making reference to Harmony's then instability and the complete lack of confidence we had in the numbering in the copies he was personally delivering to us. This came to epic shoving / shouting match between Korine and myself after we sold a copy of the book to a well-know movie director who was less than happy to be receiving a second copy numbered identically to a copy we had previously sold him.

A number of weeks later a copy of the book was on display in the window of Printed Matter's Wooster Street, NYC, store and Culkin, himself, walked by, and did a double-take after seeing his unauthorized picture on the book's cover. Culkin came in, checked out the book and I offered to sell it to him at a discount, which he turned down. Since he wasn't going to buy the book I asked him if he would sign it. He did and I bought that copy for myself.

Thus there's approximately 30 copies (likely less) of Bad Son floating around signed by Harmony Korine. I'd bet there's only one legitimately signed by Macaulay Culkin.

Finally, to confuse the editioning of the publication further, a "Special Deluxe Limited Edition" of 20 copies were signed, numbered, and stamped with the seal of the Taka Ishii Gallery were issued with a photographic print. Additionally, there may also be a hand-made edition of xeroxes bound with black binder's tape as yet another variant of the title.

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