The Organ of Cause & Effect
Richard Artschwager
American, 1923–2013
1981
A shallow wall-mounted painted box in which Artschwager uses synthetic polymer paint, charcoal, and mirrored surfaces to make a drawing that behaves like an object, asking viewers to rethink the line between picture and thing.
What hits you first is a ghostly, tree- or organ-like image built from drips and tiny charcoal marks that repeats and recedes in the mirrored recess, creating an eerie depth where drawing, reflection, and shadow overlap.
The work collapses painting and sculpture—using industrial materials and mirrors to destabilize perception—and helped open late 20th-century conversations about surface, objecthood, and the everyday in contemporary art.
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint and charcoal on board with mirrors
Dimensions
69 3/4" x 6' 9 1/2" x 11 1/8" (177.2 x 207 x 28.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the Dannheisser Foundation
Accession
163.1996
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
