| By James Rondeau and Olga M. Viso
Robert Gober, a New York-based sculptor who is known for discomfiting objects and installations that probe the realities and mythologies of American life, represented the United States at the 49th Venice Biennale. In the early 1980s Gober forged a distinguished place in contemporary art for his functionless, pristine re-creations of sinks, urinals and partial figures that some observers saw as metaphors for basic human interactions and impulses. Since the 1990s Gober's highly charged objects and installations--with imagery ranging from drains, cribs, chairs, newspaper bundles, wallpaper and upholstery to barred windows, unhinged doors, culvert pipes and streams of flowing water--have been celebrated for their ability to explore the psychological dimensions of childhood, family, home, and religion. For his participation in the Venice Biennale, Gober created a site-specific installation of spatially and thematically interrelated artworks, including seven sculptures, three prints, one photograph, and an artist's book. Gober's book, titled 1978-2000, is a 44-page bound work of photographic collage juxtaposing documentation of a trip he took from New York City to Jones Beach in 1978 with images of objects washed up on the beach from 2000.
This publication is paired, in a two-volume set, with a 72-page volume containing two illustrated essays by the United States Commissioners: "Excavation: Robert Gober's New Work in Venice" by James Rondeau of The Art Institute of Chicago and "Life's Small Epiphanies" by Olga M. Viso of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The Art Institute of Chicago and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Spring 2001
Two softcover volumes, slipcased; 7 1/2 x 10 in.
Volume 1: 1978-2000, a 44-page artist's book
Volume 2: Robert Gober, a 72-page exhibition catalogue; 31 illustrations (duotone)
$25.00 ISBN 0-86559-191-1
Order online from The Art Institute Museum Shop or call 1-800-905-8537.
This book is available to booksellers at wholesale prices from D.A.P.
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