55555 (folio 10) from Stamped Indelibly
Robert Indiana
American, 1928–2018
1967
A single blue rubber-stamp impression from Robert Indiana’s illustrated book in which he arranges five stylized '5' forms and a central star to turn numerals into bold graphic signs.
A crisp cobalt-blue star anchors the center while five identical, curving '5' motifs radiate outward—their machine-like regularity subtly punctuated by tiny misalignments that reveal the hand of stamping on cream paper.
Dating from 1967, the piece exemplifies Indiana’s Pop-era practice of transforming numerals and signage into emblematic imagery, using the repetitive, mechanical stamp to blur the boundary between commercial reproduction and individual artistic mark-making.
Medium
One from an illustrated book with fifteen rubber stamps
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 5 1/4 × 5 3/8" (13.3 × 13.7 cm); sheet: 9 1/2 × 6 1/2" (24.2 × 16.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
John B. Turner Fund
Accession
94.1968.11
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
