Carbon Series: Line of Experience

1978

Not on view

Joshua Neustein’s Carbon Series drawings originate in childhood memories of the darkness, shadows, and brief flickers of light glimpsed while living in basements during World War II. Rather than representing such memories, however, Neustein has evoked the workings of memory itself. He took carbon sets—pieces of letterhead interspersed with carbon paper for the purpose of making copies—and folded, incised, and tore them. As a result, he explained, "the image is ‘unhinged’ from the material surface and circulates in unframed space, between parts of one pictorial plane or transferred between several pictorial planes." Neustein’s use of a common office product intended for the replication of documents draws upon the Duchampian tradition of the readymade but is lent added poignancy by the carbon set’s obsolescence in a world of photocopy machines and computers.

Artwork Details

Title: Carbon Series: Line of Experience
Artist: Joshua Neustein (American, born Danzig, 1940)
Date: 1978
Medium: Torn, scratched, and folded carbon paper set
Dimensions: 6 7/8 × 8 1/2 in. (17.4 × 21.6 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Van Day Truex Fund, 1992
Object Number: 1992.286.3
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By Joshua Neustein

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Two Triangles, Joshua Neustein American, born Poland, Steel wool on two sheets of paper — Two Triangles
Joshua Neustein
ca. 1998

Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American — Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907

Bust of a Man in a Hat Gazing Upward, Martin Schongauer German, Pen and carbon black ink, over pen and brown ink, on paper prepared with sanguine wash. — Bust of a Man in a Hat Gazing Upward
Martin Schongauer
ca. 1480–90

Small Elliptical Erasure, Joshua Neustein American, born Poland, Graphite and glassine envelope with erasure crumbs and paper filings on paper — Small Elliptical Erasure
Joshua Neustein
1974

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.