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.”
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Contemporary Art
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Artist
- Lucas Samaras
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Title
- Box #53
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1966
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Medium
- Multi-colored yarn, stuffed birds, glass, plastic beads, tape measure, natural crystal, and metal ore
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Dimensions
- 13 × 15 × 14 in. (33 × 38.1 × 35.6 cm) (closed) 5 × 12 × 9 in. (box itself)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Fred Mueller
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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.
