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Join the Renaissance Society at 21c Chicago for a book launch with artist Max Guy, announcing the publication of Max Guy: But tell me, is it a civilized country? The book was developed on the occasion of Guy’s 2022 exhibition at the Renaissance Society, an installation of new works centered on The Wizard of Oz. For this event, Max Guy will be joined in conversation with curator Michael Harrison. This launch and program celebrate the artist’s first solo museum exhibition and monograph.

MAX GUY: BUT TELL ME, IS IT A CIVILIZED COUNTRY? This book accompanies Max Guy’s exhibition of the same name, an installation of new works centered on The Wizard of Oz. The title is drawn from a conversation between the Witch of the North and Dorothy in which the Witch defines “civilized” as not including magic. Anchored in Chicago—where L. Frank Baum’s novel was written and first published, and home to enduring monuments to Oz fandom—the exhibition and book bridge the parallel universes of the Emerald City and its birthplace, drawing out the traces each carries of the other. This catalog features essays by artists and writers Brit Barton and Matthew Goulish, and the exhibition’s curator, Michael Harrison, as well as the transcription of a conversation between Guy and artist Irena Haiduk. The book also includes a new artist project made specifically for the book in the form of an annotated bibliography created by Guy of writings and images that relate to and inspire his practice.

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