As Time Goes By
Lawrence Weiner
American, 1942–2021
1993
A work by Lawrence Weiner that uses screenprinting with pencil and invisible ink to present two yellow-framed panels whose ghostly, penciled phrases—“AS TIME GOES BY” and its Dutch equivalent—ask you to consider language as a fading, physical object.
At first it reads like a bright, graphic poster—rows of red-and-blue Xs border the sheet and bold yellow rectangles organize the center—but inside those frames the words appear as scratched, gray pencil shadows and barely legible impressions, like an afterimage of language.
Rooted in conceptual art, this piece extends Weiner’s practice of making words into material forms by using print techniques and erasure to stage visibility, translation, and the passage of time.
Medium
Screeprint with invisible ink and pencil additions
Dimensions
composition: 21 1/8 x 17 5/8" (53.6 x 44.7 cm); sheet: 22 1/16 x 18 1/2" (56 x 47 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Art & Project/Depot VBVR Gift
Accession
1128.2007
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
