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Remainders: Novel, Sculpture, Film

A work made of a multiple consisting of 128 books, 5 packing cartons, 1 table and 1 bookmark.

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  • A work made of a multiple consisting of 128 books, 5 packing cartons, 1 table and 1 bookmark.

Date:

1991

Artist:

Allen Ruppersberg
American, born 1944

About this artwork

Interested in notions of collection and consumption, Allen Ruppersberg reconsiders texts, songs, narratives, photographs, and memorabilia culled from American vernacular culture. Remainders: Novel, Sculpture, Film is an installation that mimics a publisher’s remainders display in a bookstore. The artist manipulated the presentation in provocative ways: inserting fictional titles and authors onto book covers; printing the back covers and inside jacket flaps of each book with the entire screenplay of a 1960s educational film that warns of the dangers of hallucinogenic drugs; and inserting into each book a series of full-page, black-and-white stills from the artist’s film archive. Installed in a museum setting, the texts become a sculptural work that is seen instead of read.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Allen Rawson Ruppersberg

Title

Remainders: Novel, Sculpture, Film

Place

United States (Artist's nationality)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1991

Medium

A multiple consisting of 128 books, 5 packing cartons, 1 table and 1 bookmark

Dimensions

114.3 × 121.9 × 76.2 cm (45 × 48 × 30 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Lannan Foundation

Reference Number

1997.152

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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