Books by Kim Gordon

Often described as aloof, Kim Gordon opens up as never before in Girl in a Band. Telling the story of her family, her life in visual art, her move to New York City, the men in her life, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, her music, and her band, Girl in a Band is a rich and beautifully written memoir. Gordon takes us back to the lost New York of the 1980s and '90s that gave rise to Sonic Youth, and the Alternative revolution in popular music the band helped usher in-paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and many other acts. But at its core, Girl in a Band examines what partnership means-and what happens when it dissolves.

Throughout the 1980s and early ''90s, Kim Gordon—widely known as a founding member of the influential band Sonic Youth—produced a series of writings on art and music. Ranging from neo-Conceptual artworks to broader forms of cultural criticism, these rare texts are brought together in this volume for the first time, placing Gordon''s writing within the context of the artist-critics of her generation, including Mike Kelley, John Miller, and Dan Graham. In addressing key stakes within contemporary art, architecture, music, and the performance of male and female gender roles, Gordon provides a prescient analysis of such figures as Kelley, Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, Tony Oursler, and Raymond Pettibon, in addition to reflecting on her own position as a woman on stage. The result—Is It My Body?—is a collection that feels as timely now as when it was written. This volume additionally features a conversation between Gordon and Jutta Koether, in which they discuss their collaborations in art, music, and performance.Institut für Kunstkritik Series

Kim Gordon var en af frontfigurerne i det banebrydende postpunkband Sonic Youth. I dag er hun et ikon i rock- og modebranchen – aldrig mainstream, ofte på forkant. I sin bog fortæller hun om sin opvækst, om hvordan det er at være ”pigen i bandet” i en mandsdomineret rockverden, og om ægteskabet med guitaristen i bandet, Thurston Moore, som ender brat og dramatisk. Kim Gordon kommer fra det, hun beskriver som ”en helt almindelig middelklasseopvækst”, der også rummer smertelige barndoms- og ungdomserindringer om hendes psykisk syge bror – erindringer der har været med til at forme den, hun er. Gordon søger væk fra ”det normale”, og som helt ung fascineres hun af og søger mod det eksperimentelle kunstnermiljø i New York. Hun afsøger flere kunstarter, og hendes bog er også en historien om, hvordan hun – ofte lidt tilfældigt – tager turen fra fascineret iagttager til udøvende kunstner og trendsætter inden for musik, mode og design. “Kim Gordon. Hun er den sejeste i hele verden.” MØ