Steam, from "Earth Projects, A Suite of 10 Prints" / Robert Morris

About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number

1973/2.50

Title

Steam, from "Earth Projects, A Suite of 10 Prints"

Artist

Robert Morris

Artist Nationality

American

Artist Life Dates

Born 1931

Medium and Support

lithograph on Rives BFK Paper

Object Creation Date

1969

Object Creation Place

North and Central America (continent)

United States (nation)

Creation Place 1

North and Central America (continent)

Creation Place 2

United States (nation)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Manoogian

Inscription

Signed and dated, in pencil, l.r.: Robert Morris/69 Numbered, in pencil, l.l.: 51/125 Watermark, lower or right edge: B F K RIVES

Dimensions

76.2 cm x 56.2 cm (30 in. x 22 1/8 in.)

Century

20th century

Primary Object Classification

Print

Primary Object Type

lithograph

Physical Description

This print is one of a series of ten works in a portfolio titled, "Earth Projects." They were pulled in the Detroit Workshop at the Common Ground of the Arts in Detroit during the summer and fall of 1969. Robert Morris stated, "They are organized around certain phenomena that can best be experienced outside... dust storms, earthquakes, plowed fields, sudden changes of temperature, Indian mounds, concrete dams, formal gardens, steam rising from city streets, natural disasters and aftermath, suburban hedges and gravel paths, burning industrial wastes storage dumps of vast quantities of materials...most of the projects would, if built, be of such a scale that the whole of the work could not be seen. This would allow the body [to explore the work] through walking rather than through an instantaneous visual impression." The immense scale of these projects often meant that the work’s overall structure or shape would be visible to the spectator only from a distance, while the experience in greater proximity to the work would necessarily be only partial. In Steam, a project realized in Bellingham, Washington, a dematerialized white cloud that dissipates into the air was created by bringing steam from below the city to the surface via pipes, resulting in an ephemeral, constantly changing sculpture.

Subject Matter

This print is one of a series of ten works in a portfolio titled, "Earth Projects." They were pulled in the Detroit Workshop at the Common Ground of the Arts in Detroit during the summer and fall of 1969. Robert Morris stated, "They are organized around certain phenomena that can best be experienced outside... dust storms, earthquakes, plowed fields, sudden changes of temperature, Indian mounds, concrete dams, formal gardens, steam rising from city streets, natural disasters and aftermath, suburban hedges and gravel paths, burning industrial wastes storage dumps of vast quantities of materials...most of the projects would, if built, be of such a scale that the whole of the work could not be seen. This would allow the body [to explore the work] through walking rather than through an instantaneous visual impression."

Primary Keywords

diagrams

landscaped-site elements

plan views

Secondary Keywords

image form

buildings and the land

document genres

document genres by form

graphic document genres

information forms

objects we use

open spaces and site elements

site elements

views

views by vantage point or orientation

visual works

visual works by form

Rights

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Technical Details

Collection

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Image Size

1315 x 989

File Size

113 KB

Record

1973/2.50

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1973-sl-2.50/1973_2.50.jpg content_copy

Related Links

Portfolios

In public portfolios

Ksenya Gurshtein Artistic Radicalism class (53)