Souffleur, what is the meaning of 'Monograph'?

Lore Van Hees, Head of Exhibitions for Contemporary Art: "Monograph' is derived from the Greek language, as are many other Dutch words. 'Monos' means singular, one-piece: you also find it in words like 'monologue' or even 'monokini’ and -graphy comes from 'grafein', writing, as in 'biography'. A monograph is thus a publication on one person or one subject."

"At M we publish a lot of monographs: usually on an artist, sometimes on a theme. The occasion is usually an ongoing exhibition. We do not always have the space to cover all aspects of an oeuvre in-depth, and in a monograph we can. We then ask experts from home and abroad to contribute to a beautifully illustrated book. We then offer that for sale in the M-shop. But our monographs are not just gadgets: they also contain new scientific insights."

"If we have an exhibition around a living artist, we try to agree on a publication in advance. Sometimes this is a more modest exhibition guide, but if the money is there, we opt for a monograph. To ensure that it is also sold in the rest of Belgium and beyond, we usually work with a publisher. This is also how we approached the exhibition on Vincent Geyskens currently running at M. The new publication is a nice addition to a monograph that appeared on his work ten years ago."

"Monographs are meant for researchers, but equally for the wider public. In fact, for anyone who wants to know more about that artist or theme. At the same time, we see them as a way of supporting artists and making their work more widely known. An exhibition, however enjoyable it may be, is by definition temporary. In a monograph, they live on."