SLOW CORROSION LEADING TO A LOSS OF INHERENT DIGNITY OF THE OBJECT AT HAND
Lawrence Weiner
American, 1942–2021
1985
A painted wall inscription in a domestic kitchen in which Lawrence Weiner uses language itself—rather than a made object—to name and enact the slow decay of the everyday.
Blocky hand‑painted letters in yellow and blue confront you across white tiles, their clinical, declarative tone set against stainless steel sinks, open shelving and a refrigerator so the words read like a conservation report about the room’s contents.
A signature example of Conceptual art’s dematerialization of the object, it makes language the material of sculpture and asks viewers to imagine processes and histories rather than simply look at a traditional crafted object.
Medium
LANGUAGE + THE MATERIALS REFERRED TO
Dimensions
Dimensions variable
Classification
Department
Credit
Art & Project/Depot VBVR Gift
Accession
463.2007
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
