49 x 49 (7 x 7 = 49)
Hanne Darboven
German, 1941–2009
1972-73
A 7-by-7 assembly of lined sheets filled with meticulous graphite-pencil entries in which Hanne Darboven translates counting and calendar time into a visible, drawn system.
From a distance it reads as a cool, regular ledger-like grid across the wall, while up close the tiny, handwritten tallies, erasures, smudges and a single denser cluster make the human, temporal labor of the work unmistakable.
Part of Darboven’s serial method of inscribing time, this piece helped shift drawing into conceptual, durational practices by treating number, notation, and chronology as visual and autobiographical structure.
Medium
Graphite pencil on 49 sheets of lined paper
Dimensions
96 1/2 x 69" (245.1 x 175.2 cm) overall; 13 3/4 x 9 7/8" (34.9 x 25.0 cm) each
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Bertram Smith
Accession
272.1973.a-ww
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions