%C2%A9 Estate Shusaku Arakawa
Point Blank I, 1979
Color lithograph and screenprintexpand_more
Vermillion Archival Collection, Gift of funds from The Northern Star Foundation and The Hersey Foundationexpand_more P.83.59.1
Not on Viewexpand_more
Architect and neo-dada artist Shusaku Arakawa rejects the widely held belief that art should be a means of self-expression. Instead, his work explores how reality is subjective and always mediated by context and perception. His paintings and prints are enigmatic, often taking the appearance of scientific diagrams or conceptual puzzles that examine the philosophical interrelationships between language and image.
In Point Blank I, one of a three-part series, Arakawa juxtaposes variations of a simple tube form with isolated and overlapping words and phrases (in both standard and reversed configurations). Some of the text is descriptive and readable; some is indecipherable. Highlighting the cognitive "gap" between words and the objects they designate, Arakawa demonstrates the ambiguity of words and their inadequacy as tools for understanding the world around us.
Details
- Title
- Point Blank I
- Artist Life
- American (born Japan) 1936-2010
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- P.83.59.1
- Provenance
- Vermillion Editions Limited, Minneapolis; sold to MIA, 1983.
- Catalogue Raisonne
- VEL 21
- Curator Approved
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© Estate Shusaku Arakawa