Documenta 5 - Catalog - Documenta 1972

Ed Ruscha designed this binder-format catalogue for Harald Szeemann’s Documenta 5 (the full title of which was Befragung der Realität – Bildwelten heute [“Questioning Reality – Pictorial worlds today”]) in 1972. The brilliant orange cover features Ruscha’s screen-printed image of ants forming the number five; more than 150 featured artists are represented alphabetically, with individual entries accessible via tabbed dividers. This is a significant curatorial document and an important example of Ruscha’s book works. Reproduced here are images of artworks by Giuseppe Penone and Gerhard Richter illustrated in the catalogue.