Approach    Sideways Steps

Approach Sideways Steps

Franz Erhard Walther
German, born 1939
1968
A set of white fabric forms stored in a simple plywood case that the artist intended to be handled and set in motion, turning viewers into participants.
It reads at first like a plain wooden shelf full of mattress‑like bundles and tied straps—soft, folded cloth compressed into modular units whose taut ties and rumpled surfaces suggest bodies and actions waiting to be released.
Walther's work helped remake sculpture from an inert object into a participatory, performative practice that made viewers co‑creators and opened a path toward body‑based and relational art.
Medium
Fabric
Dimensions
210 1/4 x 5 1/8" (534 x 13 cm)
Classification
Credit
Scott Burton Fund
Accession
1060.2010.47
Palette
Exhibitions
View on moma.org

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Very Similar

> 65%
Starting Point and Paths 79%

Starting Point and Paths

Franz Erhard Walther

1969

Starting Point and Paths 79% Franz Erhard Walther 1969 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture Component (Box for cloth sh... German 1060.2010.51
Body 79%

Body

Franz Erhard Walther

1967

Body 79% Franz Erhard Walther 1967 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 95 11/16 x 44 1/8" (243 x 1... German 1060.2010.29
Positions 78%

Positions

Franz Erhard Walther

1969

Positions 78% Franz Erhard Walther 1969 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 25 9/16 x 3 15/16 x 25 3/16... German 1060.2010.54
Time    Place    Duration    Direction    Relation 78%

Time Place Duration Direction Relation

Franz Erhard Walther

1969

Time Place Duration Direction Relation 78% Franz Erhard Walther 1969 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture Component: 86 5/8 x 60 5/8"... German 1060.2010.58
Centered 77%

Centered

Franz Erhard Walther

1967

Centered 77% Franz Erhard Walther 1967 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 48 3/8 x 48" (122.8 x 121.9... German 1060.2010.23
Closeness 77%

Closeness

Franz Erhard Walther

1967

Closeness 77% Franz Erhard Walther 1967 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 10 11/16 x 6 3/4" (27.1 x 1... German 1060.2010.30
Strike 77%

Strike

Franz Erhard Walther

1967

Strike 77% Franz Erhard Walther 1967 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 336 5/8 x 31 1/2" (855 x 80... German 1060.2010.41
Untitled 76%

Untitled

Franz Erhard Walther

1963

Untitled 76% Franz Erhard Walther 1963 Fabric Sculpture Painting & Sculpture 41 5/16 x 8 1/4" (105 x 21 cm) German 1060.2010.1