id: 162624
accession number: 2003.226
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.226
updated: 2023-03-15 15:46:47.020000
Untitled, 1990. Robert Gober (American, b. 1954). Wax, wood, leather shoe, cotton fabric, human hair; overall: 29.6 x 16 x 51.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 5/16 x 20 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dorothea Wright Hamilton Fund 2003.226 © Robert Gober, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
title: Untitled
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1990
creation date earliest: 1990
creation date latest: 1990
current location:
creditline: Dorothea Wright Hamilton Fund
copyright: © Robert Gober, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
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culture: America, 20th century
technique: wax, wood, leather shoe, cotton fabric, human hair
department: Contemporary Art
collection: CONTEMP - Sculpture
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Robert Gober (American, b. 1954) - artist
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measurements: Overall: 29.6 x 16 x 51.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 5/16 x 20 3/16 in.)
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edition of the work:
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inscriptions:
inscription: Signed on wood mount for attaching leg to wall.
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Body Proxy: Clothing in Contemporary Art
opening date: 2015-09-01T00:00:00
Body Proxy: Clothing in Contemporary Art. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (September 1-December 13, 2015).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Reality Bites: Approaches to Representation in American Sculpture. Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL (April 11 - June 28, 1998).
* Extensions: Aspects of the Figure. Joseloff Gallery, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT (November 12, 1998 - January 17, 1999).
* The Body in Question: Tracing, Displacing and Remaking the Human Figure in Contemporary Art. The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY (July 6 - August 22, 1999).
* 13 Alumni Artists. Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT (May 19 - December 10, 2000).
* Transformer. Porin Taidemuseo, Pori, Finland (September 14 - November 11, 2002).
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PROVENANCE
Collection of the artist; acquired by the CMA from Matthew Marks Gallery, New York in 2003.
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fun fact:
Gober expertly applied individual human hairs to the sculptural rendering of the leg in this work.
digital description:
wall description:
At once disturbing and intriguing, Untitled is an immaculately crafted wax leg that appears to be sticking out of the gallery wall. One can note the expertly applied individual human hairs and beat-up leather brogues the artist wore for weeks to humanize the sculpture. Gober is among the generation of artists that emerged during the 1980s to confront divisive political issues that centered upon the human body, including the AIDS crisis, gay rights, women’s rights, and censorship. A fragment of a person, Untitled is a mournful reminder of the lives that have been deeply affected by such traumas.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page number: Reproduced p. 339; mentioned p. 338
url:
Kotik, Charlotta. “The Century’s 25 Most Influential Artists: Inside Out.” ARTnews (May 1999).
page number: Reproduced p.129
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Gober, Robert, and Theodora Vischer. Robert Gober: Sculptures and Installations, 1979-2007. Basel, Switzerland: Schaulager, 2007.
page number: Reproduced p. 254, Fig. 5
url:
Extensions: Aspects of the Figure. Exh. Cat. West Hartford, CT: University of Hartford, 1998.
page number: Reproduced p. 26-27
url:
Donadio, Emmie. 13 Alumni Artists. Exh. Cat. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College Museum of Art, 2000.
page number: Reproduced on cover and pgs. 14 and 37
url:
“Feature.” Maine Antique Digest (July 2000).
page number: Reproduced p. 27-E
url:
“13 Alumni Artists.” Exhibition calendar brochure. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College Museum of Art (Winter/Spring 2000)
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“Robert Gober, The United States Pavilion 49th Venice Biennale.” Pamphlet (June 10-November 4, 2001).
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IMAGES