Untitled / Robert Barry
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2008/2.221
- Title
- Untitled
- Artist
- Robert Barry
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- (1936 - )
- Medium and Support
- transfer type on paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1976
- Object Creation Place
- North America
- American
- Creation Place 1
- North America
- Creation Place 2
- American
- Style/Group/Movement
- conceptual art
- Period
- Modern and contemporary
- Dimensions
- 17.9 cm x 17.9 cm (7 1/16 in. x 7 1/16 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- transfer lithograph
- Physical Description
- Diptych of two square sheets of paper printed with words and lines. Left: Four lines along the diagonal divide the sheet into four triangles. The lines do not intersect in the middle, and stop just short of the corner of the paper. On each line are two words, one right side up, the other upside down. The “pairs” are (from center out, clockwise from top left): inner/ most; obtain/ clarity; come/ startle; replace/ toward. Right: A square is printed just inside the edges of the sheet. On each line are two words, one right side up, the other upside down. The “pairs” are (from top, left to right): lure/ handle; never/ given; random/ roam; diminish/ scale.
- Subject Matter
- Robert Barry was among the first wave of conceptual artists of the 1960s and early 1970s who made art that was primarily text- and language-based rather than the traditional pictorial orientation of the visual arts. Barry chose combinations of words that seem to be related in some way. For example “obtain/ clarity” could read as a sentence, and although “come/ startle” seems to be of a similar construction, does not work like the first pair. As Anne Rorimer explained, “Words are used in Barry’s artwork to evoke the notion of open-ended space and open-ended meaning.... [T]he viewer is left free to bring their own meaning to the work. But the works also invite participation, allowing viewers to flex their imagination.” (cited in Benjamin Genocchio, “A Career Built on Exploring the Boundaries of Art,” NY Times, 30 Nov 2003)
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- concepts in the arts
- genres in the arts
- information form components
- international post-1945 styles and movements
- layout features
- literary, oral and motion picture genres
- people and culture
- post-1945 fine arts styles and movements
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- 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
- 2384 x 2376
- File Size
- 781 KB
- Record
- 2008/2.221
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.221/2008_2_221_1.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Untitled; Robert Barry." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.221/2008_2_221_1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 05, 2024.
