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Box #53

A work made of multi-colored yarn, stuffed birds, glass, plastic beads, tape measure, natural crystal, and metal ore.

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  • A work made of multi-colored yarn, stuffed birds, glass, plastic beads, tape measure, natural crystal, and metal ore.

Date:

1966

Artist:

Lucas Samaras
American, born Greece, 1936-2024

About this artwork

At the beginning of his career, Lucas Samaras—who is often linked with the junk or assemblage artists of the late 1950s and early 1960s—transformed a large number of found and purchased boxes into glittering, fantastic, and often menacing objects. First conceived in 1962, Box #53 belongs to a group of custom-made, yarn-covered boxes that incorporate stuffed birds. When the box is opened, a tape measure audibly calculates the height of the nine-inch opening. Inside are four compartments, one of which features a crystal encrusted rock. Box #53 embodies a number of implied contrasts: nature’s brilliantly hued birds and the man-made, colored yarn; the container’s relatively modest interior and its flamboyant exterior; and the muted rock and noisy measuring device. “I’m never interested in ambiguous response,” the artist said. “Rather a positive negative … touch or not touch, the quality of seducing-repelling.”

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Lucas Samaras

Title

Box #53

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.

1966

Medium

Multi-colored yarn, stuffed birds, glass, plastic beads, tape measure, natural crystal, and metal ore

Dimensions

13 × 15 × 14 in. (33 × 38.1 × 35.6 cm) (closed) 5 × 12 × 9 in. (box itself)

Credit Line

Gift of Fred Mueller

Reference Number

1971.778

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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