Book (Maquette)
Lucas Samaras
American, born Greece. 1936–2024
1967, published 1968
A painted and collaged maquette for an illustrated book with acrylic and collage additions in which the artist sought to turn the book into a tactile, sculptural narrative.
Bright rainbow stripes, confetti-like polka dots, and organic die-cut openings immediately strike the eye, turning pages into interlocking shapes that cast playful shadows and make the book feel like a small, three-dimensional stage.
Made in the late 1960s, the piece exemplifies experiments that collapsed reading and viewing—treating the book as sculptural object and intimate performance and anticipating artists’ books and multimedia assemblage practices.
Medium
Maquette for an illustrated book with acrylic and collage additions
Dimensions
page (irreg., each): 10 1/16 x 10 1/16" (25.5 x 25.5 cm); overall (irreg.): 10 1/16 x 10 1/16" (25.5 x 25.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
1648.1968.1-11
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
