The art of assemblage, preceding pop art, was the aesthetic propellant for Marisol. She explained her two-dimensional approach to sculpture by conceding that she was untrained and a bad carver. She compensated by adopting a method that included odd pieces of cast-off carpentry, stick-on parts, face masks, cast body parts, and common objects of all kinds.
Fittingly, the artist chose as her subject Henry Geldzahler, the hip curator and critic who chronicled and sometimes participated in Happenings, pop art's theatrical sideshow. On two joined columns, the artist drew and painted differently posed versions of his head and striped-shirt-tie-and-pantsclad body.
Fittingly, the artist chose as her subject Henry Geldzahler, the hip curator and critic who chronicled and sometimes participated in Happenings, pop art's theatrical sideshow. On two joined columns, the artist drew and painted differently posed versions of his head and striped-shirt-tie-and-pantsclad body.
Details
Artist | Marisol (Marisol Escobar), Venezuelan and American, born France, 1930-2016 |
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Title |
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Date | 1967 |
Medium | Carved and painted wood |
Dimensions | Overall: 65 5/8 × 31 1/4 × 16 1/2 inches (166.7 × 79.4 × 41.9 cm) |
Credit Line | Gift of Mr. and Mrs. S. Brooks Barron |
Accession Number | 1993.71 |
Department | Contemporary Art after 1950 |
Not On View |
Provenance
collection of S. Brooks Barron;
1993-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
1993-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Published References
Colby, Joy Hakanson. "DIA's 'double portrait' ranks as a singular gain." The Detroit News, September 9, 1994, 4D.