1 Gram Cobalt (folio 13) from Eye Magazine #14 "Cobalt Myth Mechanics"

Roger Boyce

1985, published 1986

A page from a spiral-bound periodical in which the artist affixes a tiny sealed bag of powdered cobalt beside blunt, typewritten warnings, asking readers to hold a hazardous material and the language that frames it in tension.

The arresting contrast of cool, mechanical typography and a small pastel-pink powder sealed in a clear plastic bag—set against generous white space—makes the object read like a clinical specimen and a cautionary label at once.

By combining a literal sample with documentary text, the work links art, science, and media critique, highlighting how industrial materials and risks are mediated, mythologized, and consumed in late-20th-century culture.

Palette

Art Terms

Artist’s book Illustrated book Periodical Conceptual art Readymade Assemblage

Exhibitions

The Package

1959

Design for Use

1944

American Scene: 35 Gouaches by Witold Gordon

1941

Useful Objects

1946