The Paul McCarthy Purple Book

This Purple Book collects material from Paul McCarthy's long-running CSSC project, Coach Stage Stage Coach. It pairs drawings from his studio "drawing sessions" with the pretend/performance work that gives the book its subtitle.

Published as part of the Purple Books series of small artist-specific volumes tied to Purple magazine, the book presents raw studio material: drawings and documentation from McCarthy's performative drawing sessions. This is not a conventional retrospective survey. It follows the series' format of giving artists a compact, loosely edited outlet distinct from a museum catalogue.

McCarthy (b. 1945) has worked since the 1970s with performance, video, and large-scale installation built around abjection, consumerism, and American myth. He frequently uses food and viscous substances as stand-ins for bodily fluids. CSSC is one of several extended, years-long projects through which he continues to generate new drawing, sculpture, and performance from a fixed set of characters and scenarios.