Untitled (American Photographs)
Why not judge a book by its cover? Wolfe’s meticulously crafted facsimiles of his favorite volumes beg this question, suggesting that the stories told by a sunned spine or ragged dust jacket are as important as those printed on the pages within. Remaking mass-market books by hand, he records the wear and tear inflicted on his personal library, illustrating the afterlives of iconic commercial publications. His careworn copy of Walker Evans’s 1938 exhibition catalogue is a case in point. As the cover design’s ironic omission of pictures prompts readers to question the very idea of an "American photograph," so Wolfe’s facsimile—which contains no photographs at all—interrogates our relationship to landmark texts.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled (American Photographs)
- Artist: Steve Wolfe (American (born Italy), 1955–2016)
- Date: 1999–2000
- Medium: Oil, screenprint, modeling paste, paper, wood, and canvas board
- Dimensions: Overall: approx. 9 × 8 1/8 × 3 1/4 in. (22.9 × 20.6 × 8.3 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Gift of Jeffrey Fraenkel and Alan Mark, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.100
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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Walker Evans
ca. 1958
Walker Evans
October 1958
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ca. 1958
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Carl Andre
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Sol LeWitt
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