Curiosa: Celebrity Relics, Historical Fossils, & Other Metamorphic Rubbish.

BENES, Barton Lidice; Introduction by John Berendt [Ruth Bader Ginsburg].

$6,000.00

Item Number: 149955

New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2002.

First edition of this collection of artistic photographs. Quarto, original publisher’s cloth with a pictorial inlay on the front panel, illustrated. Association copy, lengthily inscribed by the author to Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the title page, “For Justice Ginsburg and Martin, it is an honor for me to inscribe my book to the both of you. Fondly, Barton Lidice Benes March 15, 2006.” From the library of American lawyer and jurist Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020 and was responsible for some of the most eventful legal decisions of the past half-century. Nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993 to replace retiring justice Byron White, Ginsburg became the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O’Connor. Ginsburg spent much of her legal career as an advocate for gender equality and women’s rights, winning many arguments before the Supreme Court. During her tenure as associate justice of the Supreme Court, Ginsburg received attention for her fiery and passionate dissents that reflected liberal views of the law. She was popularly dubbed “the Notorious R.B.G.”, a moniker she later embraced. She authored several important majority opinions related to gender discrimination, voting rights, and affirmative action in cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996) which struck down the Virginia Military Institute’s  male-only admissions policy as violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) in which the Court ruled that mental illness is a form of disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000) in which the Court held that residents have standing to seek fines for an industrial polluter that affected their interests and that is able to continue doing so. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

The book is a collection of unique and often provocative artwork, featuring collages and assemblages that incorporate found objects, taboo materials, and themes of mortality, sexuality, and culture. Benes, known for his unconventional and satirical approach to art, explores societal norms and personal obsessions in this visually striking work.