News
Whodunit Books presented an in-person book launch for Duchamp's Pipe with Celia, followed by a lively discussion.
Duchamp’s Pipe noted in ARTNEWS in a review by Alan Greenberger, An Open Book: Nine Books to Add to Your Collection this Winter, ARTNEWS, New York, Winter, 2020. Duchamp’s Pipe: A Chess Romance – Marcel Duchamp & George Koltanowski. “Celia Rabinovitch delves into the lore behind the pesky Dadaist and the legendary chess master.” 24-25
The International Society for the Study of Surrealism is delighted to present this virtual book launch of Duchamp’s Pipe: A Chess Romance. Author and artist Celia Rabinovitch will be in conversation with author and artist, Ann McCoy, followed by an audience Q&A.
Click below to register for the free online event and for a 30% discount on the book:
May 2022 - The British Chess Magazine the world's oldest chess journal, published a longer version of Celia’s article, The Winnipeg Jewish Chess Club, Alexander Mogle and George Koltanowski, Champion of Blindfold Chess, with archival illustrations, UK, May 2022, p. 291-295.British Chess Magazine established 1881, has long been regarded as British chess royalty.
Duchamp’s Pipe -Shortlisted for the 2021 Vine Award in Canadian Jewish Literature – one of three nominees for history: Riveting and insightful, poetic and heartbreaking: Koffler Centre of the Arts announces the 2021 Vine Awards Shortlist. Honouring the best Canadian Jewish literature in four categories, each with a prize of $10,000.
“In a history that manages to be both highly structured and kaleidoscopic, Celia Rabinovitch reveals the chess friendship between surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp and chess champion George Koltanowski. Her compelling narration is based on interviews, previous histories, and a wealth of unearthed material – from photographs to exhibition posters to score books, and by tracing those moments that the two men’s biographies intersected, including their chess matches, the gifts they exchanged, and the art objects they created together, she explores Duchamp’s philosophy of the intersection of chess and art.” – Vine Awards Jury
Visit Koffler Arts for more information.
The British Chess Magazine , the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication, published Celia’s article, A conversation with LARRY LIST, chess curator and writer - Permanent Attraction: Art, Chess and Design, with illustrations, UK, November 2021 p.680-88. Founded in 1881 by John Watkinson, from humble origins in Yorkshire, British Chess Magazine is the longest running has long been regarded as British chess royalty.
McNally Robinson Booksellers is pleased to present the online book launch of Duchamp’s Pipe via Zoom on Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7:00 pm CST hosted by Ann McCoy. View the Zoom book launch on YouTube: Here
Reviews
“Celia’s detective work became the matrix for this book. She traces several elements throughout the saga - the two men of course, whose principle pastime was playing chess, but also the nature of the game as an entity in itself, the act of pipe-smoking as another, and time - the thread that weaves the story together.”
— Simone Cohen Scott, Jewish Post & News
“…‘Should you spend your time on Duchamp’s Pipe?’ If you are interested in art history then you should read this book. If you find entertainment in reading about the eccentric lifestyles of the early 20th century, then yes, you should read this book. If you take pleasure in a sense of Parisian Bohemia and want to feel a bit closer to the classy, fashionable and often sexy men of France then YES YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.”
— Tony Healthfield, Daily Art Magazine
“Art books often throw a curveball and 2020 provides some delightfully peculiar pitches. …sparking up Duchamp’s Pipe: A Chess Romance—Marcel Duchamp & George Koltanowski (North Atlantic Books, February) is the friendship between Dadaist Duchamp and Belgian chess master Koltanowski. Author Celia Rabinovitch reveals how a $87,000 pipe fits into the picture.”
— Christian House, Art Agency Partners
“…She has produced a wonderful masterpiece of the lives of two artists, their friendship, their interaction, and their obsession to chess. The book is well-researched with lots of historical chess events that Kolty and Duchamp participated in. I cannot think of a better chess biography of two best-friend chess players than this one.”
— Bill Wall, Bill Wall’s Chess Page
“Rabinovitch, in her book, invites us to discover the chess magician, Koltanowski, and a Duchamp somewhat removed from the pedestal of fame, highlighting his most human aspects.”
“…this book spends chapters on each and never in a forced way but quite naturally so if you are into this story for Duchamp, the chess aspects, …it just works! This chess romance was symbolized through the gift of an everyday geometric pipe that Duchamp had gifted the chess champion.”
— Jesse Freeman, I’m Nothing in Particular
“When first learning of the book I was curious as to how a writer would be able to write a book concerning the gift of a smoking pipe. After all, so much has been written about Marcel Duchamp one would think it impossible to find anything new about which to write. I was wrong…”
— Armchair Warrior, xpertchesslessons
“An age-old question about chess has been to ask whether it is a science or an art.… The recent trends might seem to indicate that science, in its computer embodiment, has decisively answered the question in its own favour. Yet Celia Rabinovitch’s deeply researched and multi-faceted book suggests something else. It is that the question itself sells the game short. The enduring power of chess really comes from the range of things in life which it inspires. As Rabinovitch, who has also written persuasively on Surrealism and the Sacred, might put it, the board appeals to the spirits and the spirit. Therein lies the gift.”
— Peter O’Brien, British Chess Magazine
“Celia Rabinovitch has done a remarkable job of research to unearth a coherent story of the intertwining lives of two remarkable figures. As an amateur California chess historian, I was blown away by the way she made the history of both men come alive. The history of Marcel Duchamp was new to me; I had no idea how much he loved chess or how good he was. She also brought out facets of Kolty's life which I hadn't known. It also has a forward about Kolty in California. If you like chess or art; this is a must read!”
—Kerry Lawless, Chess Dryad
“… the facets of Duchamp’s Pipe reflect the light of audacious bohemia living in Europe’s wartime shadows.”
—ADINA KAMIEN-KAZHDAN, The David Rockefeller Senior Curator of Modern Art at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and author of Remaking the Readymade
“A richly illustrated chess odyssey that winds across three continents tracing the intertwined lives of two of the more cerebral characters of the last century.”
—HENRY M. SAYRE, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Oregon State University, and author of The Visual Text of William Carlos Williams
“To prevail in the Duchampian universe requires a good story and the capacity to tell it. Rabinovitch’s book, like a play with a cast of characters led by George Koltanowski and Marcel Duchamp, delivers both.”
—STEPHAN E. HAUSER, author of Kurt Seligmann,1900-1962: Leben Und Werk
“. . . The subtle and precise movements of chess pieces; the camaraderie with George Koltanowski and his ring of friends … external gifts of exchange and imaginative consciousness of the materiality of the human world … Rabinovitch adds life to our understanding of Duchamp.”
—CHARLES H. LONG, author of Significations and Ellipsis