On the 26 October 2013 Simon Morris delivered a lecture on conceptual writing  at the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art as part of the The Book Lovers.

Long-term project about artist novels
Curated by David Maroto and Joanna Zielinska

The Book Lovers is a systematic attempt to study the phenomenon of artist novels. The central question is: what are the consequences when we accept the novel as an art form in its own right?

There are some examples of novels written by visual artists in the 20th century, but it is only in the last ten or fifteen years that an increasing number of artists have begun to choose the novel as an artistic medium. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research on this subject. This circumstance gives rise to a situation in which artists who write novels are not aware of others doing the same. With The Book Lovers we are intending to create public awareness of this silently widespread artistic trend. The project develops in a number of different stages. Its base is the creation of a collection of artist novels with a parallel online database, which is complemented with a series of exhibitions and public programmes, a pop-up bookstore and a publication.

The collection includes, among others, novels written by: Carl Andre, AA Bronson, Keren Cytter, Salvador Dalí, Tim Etchells, Matias Faldbakken, Liam Gillick, Goldin+Senneby, Rodney Graham, Renée Green, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Pablo Helguera, Stewart Home, Joseph Kosuth, Yayoi Kusama, Jana Leo, Jill Magid, Tom McCarthy, Simon Morris, Brian O’Doherty, Mai-Thu Perret, Richard Prince, Stuart Ringholt, Roee Rosen, Lindsay Seers, Alexandre Singh, Oscar Tuazon, Andy Warhol… to a total of more than 285 titles. This collection is the result of a research carried out by David Maroto and Joanna Zielinska, and it has been acquired by MHKA, to be part of the museum’s collection.