A Flux Atlas
Robert Watts
American, 1923–1988
1973
A small clear plastic specimen box in which Robert Watts paired twenty-four ordinary stones with offset-printed cards to turn a humble collection into a playful, conceptual atlas.
You’re struck by the contrast of the clinical, transparent grid and pale printed slips against the varied, tactile stones—each organic form isolated like a scientific specimen in a manufactured, museum-like tray.
Rooted in Fluxus, the piece collapses the boundary between art and everyday objects, treating cataloguing and chance encounters as artistic strategies that helped push art toward dematerialization and conceptual practice.
Medium
Plastic box with offset label, containing twenty-four offset cards and twenty-four rocks
Dimensions
overall (closed): 8 7/8 x 13 1/8 x 2 3/16" (22.5 x 33.3 x 5.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift
Accession
2815.2008
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
