The exhibitions Urgent Conversations: Athens–Antwerp and Urgent Conversations: Antwerp – Athens are a collaboration between EMST and M HKA, a theoretical and visual dialogue, based on works from the collections of both museums, which includes more than 70 works structured in 22 topics.   

28.04.2017 - 07.01.2018        

M HKA, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen - Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerpen

EMST, National Museum of Contemporary Art - Kallirrois Avenue & Amvr. Frantzi Str., Athens 11743

James Lee Byars

(c)scan: M HKA
Letter to Isi Fiszman (if the critical questions were gathered would you then have a picture of the contemporary problems of earth people?), 1969
Letter , 2 x (48.5 x 71 cm)
two sheets of white silk paper

Letter to Isi Fiszman
Transcription:

"isi of all my projects – question artist – is the most provocative – I didn’t realize the importance of question (either in ’63 when I gave away 10,000 tiny (1/16”sq.) ?’s in clear inflated Bags on strings) or just at Oxford, I’ve just come from the Princeton Institute for Ad. Stud. meeting Freeman Dyson whose question is (we’re receiving red light from the solar system (nobody knows what the hell it is) and he’s making a hypothetical star (most regular stars can’t produce red light) on paper (How to?) A Marvelous question - Anyway I’d like to collect the 100 most imp. ?’s in the world and for my week show in Europe - a poll system of T.V. etc. would be excellent - I’ve suggested it to Cladders please relay your understanding of my request to him. What questions exist in all of Germany - Can they be gathered in the museum - Can he set me up with a telephone system to poll the country for a week of question collecting ?? White push button phones – lang. people - speakerphone system (very simple, in NYC $1,50 per month rent) which allow the voice to be heard out in the room (so spectators could listen) ???????????? Please ask him? If he can’t then can you at Antwerp and C Jeff on T.W.V. or just T.V. as a program and to ask all of Europe for your institute? It’s a fabulous program and if the critical questions were gathered would you then have a picture of the contemporary problems of earth people? It is a difficult process to get people to give you what question they have but a very fantastic effort. – Answer immediately? James Lee Byars P.S. Another good question is “Which questions have disappeared?"