Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Shusaku Arakawa
Untitled 3 from "No!" Says the Signified, signed proof, aside from the ed. of 40

1973

About the Item

Shusaku Arakawa Untitled 3 from "No!" Says the Signified, 1973 Lithograph and Silkscreen on Arches Paper with Deckled Edges Hand signed and dated on the lower right front Artist's Proof (unique) aside from the regular edition of 40 22 1/2 × 30 inches Unframed This exquisite Arakawa silkscreen and lithograph on Arches paper is a signed and inscribed Artists Proof aside from the regular edition of 40. It features stenciled and handwritten words, erasures and other marks to question the ways we perceive and the ways we make meaning. It was created as part of a six part series Arakawa did titled "NO! SAYS THE SIGNIFIED", published by the GraphicStudio at the University of South Florida, Tampa and printed by Multiples. Inc. This work is part of an important series that was the subject of a major lecture and exhibition at the Portland Art Museum in Maine. It is classic Arakawa - an important example of his way of displacing sometimes cryptic words onto images as a form of artistic philosophy and performance. The work bears both the printer and publisher's blind stamps on the lower left recto (front) and a copyright stamp on the lower right recto (front). Hand signed, dated and inscribed by the artist. The text on the print reads as follows: "The given describes language through training! To what extent? For example, what is the relation of the given to the acquired regarding perception? When in turn languages are used to describe the given or any of its aspects it seems that the mechanism process of meaning occurs. But to what extent? Can consciousness supersede its own mechanism (process) of focusing? If not how much of what seems to occur is nonsense? Shape is used to plot sense, color to relate to quality of nonsense. A similar pairing can be found in any living room. " Shusaku Arakawa (荒川 修作 Arakawa Shūsaku, July 6, 1936 – May 18, 2010) who spoke of himself as an “eternal outsider” and “abstractionist of the distant future,” first studied mathematics and medicine at the University of Tokyo, and art at the Musashino Art University. He was a member of Tokyo’s Neo-Dadaism Organizers, a precursor to The Neo-Dada movement. Arakawa’s early works were first displayed in the infamous Yomiuri Independent Exhibition, a watershed event for postwar Japanese avant-garde art. Arakawa arrived in New York in 1961 with fourteen dollars in his pocket and a telephone number for Marcel Duchamp, whom he phoned from the airport and over time formed a close friendship. He started using diagrams within his paintings as philosophical propositions. Jean-Francois Lyotard has said of Arakawa’s work that it “makes us think through the eyes,” and Hans-Georg Gadamer has described it as transforming “the usual constancies of orientation into a strange, enticing game—a game of continually thinking out.” Quoting Paul Celan, Gadamer also wrote of the work: "There are songs to sing beyond the human." Arthur Danto has found Arakawa to be “the most philosophical of contemporary artists." For his part, Arakawa has declared: “Painting is only an exercise, never more than that.” Arakawa and Madeline Gins are co-founders of the Reversible Destiny Foundation, an organization dedicated to the use of architecture to extend the human lifespan. They have co-authored books, including Reversible Destiny, which is the catalogue of their Guggenheim exhibition, Architectural Body (University of Alabama Press, 2002) and Making Dying Illegal (New York: Roof Books, 2006).
More From This SellerView All
  • Kick Against the Pricks, Conceptual, Pop, Protest, Text Art, Signed/N - Framed
    By Mel Bochner
    Located in New York, NY
    MEL BOCHNER Kick Against the Pricks (Blah..Blah...Blah...), 2018 Two color silkscreen on boutique silk fair paper with blue-colored back, 350 gsm paper Signed, dated, and numbered lo...
    Category

    2010s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Screen, Graphite, Pencil

  • Stars Missoula Montana by top conceptual artist signed, numbered Large: 41 x 30"
    Located in New York, NY
    Dennis Oppenheim Stars Missoula Montana, 1979 Lithograph on Arches cover paper Hand signed and dated on the front, Edition 81/150 41 × 30 inches (ships rolled in a tube measuring 35...
    Category

    1970s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Pencil, Lithograph

  • Two Screenprinted pillow cases (one hand signed by Baldessari) in bespoke box
    By John Baldessari
    Located in New York, NY
    John Baldessari Pillow Cases in Bespoke Presentation Box (one pillowcase hand signed by John Baldessari) for The Thing Quarterly Issue 22, 2014 Silkscreen on 100% cotton 320 thread count sateen pillowcases (Hand signed by John Baldessari) Boldly signed in ink by John Baldessari on one of the pillowcases (see photo) Unframed One of the pillowcases is hand signed in ink by John Baldessari: John Baldessari was one of the artists who were invited to contribute an object (or "thing") with text for a special project for "The Thing" publication (read on for more on "The Thing") ; the conceptual object therefore had to incorporate text. Baldessari's contribution in 2014 was a silkscreened pillowcase with text. A limited (unknown) number of these pillowcases were marketed and sold as a set of two in a bespoke box. However, exceptionally, Baldessari hand signed a very few of pillowcases in ink. This is one of the very special sets bearing one hand signed pillow case - purchased directly from "The Thing". (a copy of the 2014 receipt is shown here.) The rest of these boxed sets were not hand signed. The pillowcase is brand new, and will look gorgeous once pressed and framed by a professional framer. More about this boxed set: Issue 22 of THE THING Quarterly is by LA-based conceptual artist John Baldessari. It consists of two 100% cotton sateen pillowcases featuring an image of a woman clutching a pillow. The black and white image is taken from a Hollywood film still in Baldessari's collection and has been silkscreened on each pillowcase with environmentally-friendly, water-based ink. The pillowcases are standard-sized and envelope-style. For those who like their thread count high, the issue clocks in at a solid 320 thread count. Measurements: Box 10.5 inches by 13 inches by 2 inches Pillow 20 inches vertical by 26 inches What was The Thing Quarterly? THE THING was an experimental publication created in collaboration with Will Rogan as part of an artist residency. We saw it as a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers were invited to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. The object is reproduced and hand wrapped at wrapping parties and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service. It began as part of an artist residency in San Francisco’s Southern Exposure. Will and I had met in grad school at UC Berkeley and discovered our mutual affinity for quarterlies. He was a librarian at SFAI for five years and I had been a high school teacher for five years. WE were both interested pushing the boundaries of publication. Our plan was to create a 1 year publication with four artists, but from the very start the project generated so much interest and international excitement that we found ourselves running a publication complete with a brick and mortar storefront and a staff of four individuals. After 10 years, 34 issues, 59 projects and countless live events, we decided to end the publication in order to pursue our individual projects. We are still working together on a less ambitious new project, and hope to launch it at some point in 2021. CONTRIBUTORS: have included John Baldessari, Dave Eggers, Miranda July...
    Category

    2010s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Fabric, Cotton, Screen, Ink, Mixed Media, Cardboard

  • "If Elections Were Held Today" from the Castelli Sonnabend Collection
    Located in New York, NY
    Hans Haacke "If Elections Were Held Today" from the Castelli Sonnabend Collection, 1973 Silkscreen in portfolio sleeve of Crane's bond paper No. 1. Stamped and numbered. Unframed in ...
    Category

    1970s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Screen

  • Eddie (Sylvie's Brother) in the Desert (celebrated 1960s silkscreen)
    By Oyvind Fahlstrom
    Located in New York, NY
    Öyvind Fahlström Eddie (Sylvie's Brother) in the Desert (from New York International Portfolio), 1966 Silkscreen on wove paper Pencil signed and numbered from the limited edition of ...
    Category

    1960s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Screen

  • Blatt auf Karteikarte, rom the portfolio Columbus: In Search of a New Tomorrow
    By Joseph Beuys
    Located in New York, NY
    Joseph Beuys Blatt auf Karteikarte (from Columbus: In Search of a New Tomorrow), 1992 Color silkscreen on vellum parchment paper, held in original portfolio sleeve Signed by Eva Beuys, the Executor of the Beuys estate, in blue ink on the reverse and annotated P.P.; and bears publisher's blind stamp 30 × 22 3/4 inches Held in the original, removable portfolio sleeve (see photograph) Originally published by Domberger in collaboration with Artists Unlimited for Nature to support the conservation of the tropical rainforest. The text says: 1000 Stk. hh DIN A4 EVP 33,00 M This is one of five Printers Proofs aside from the regular edition of 100, signed by Eva Beuys, the Executor of the Beuys estate, and annotated PP on the front, with the publisher's blind stamp, from the original portfolio Columbus: In Search of a New Tomorrow, housed in the rarely seen original protective sleeve. The portfolio was created to raise funds to help save the rainforest. “Before the world is changed it would perhaps be more appropriate not to destroy it” - Paul Claudel This color silkscreen signed and annotated on the reverse by the artist's widow is Joseph Beuys contribution to the portfolio, "Columbus: in Search of a New Tomorrow" - to raise funds and awareness about saving the Rainforest. 35 artist from around the world were invited to contribute mainly silkscreens, but also photography, literature, drama and music. This ambitious project was sponsored by His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and Mr. Hoet, manager of “documenta IX”. Besides Beuys, other artists who participated in this portfolio are: Kenny Scharf, Max Bill, Sandro Chia, Eduardo Chillida, Joe Cocker, Christo, Hanne Darboven...
    Category

    1990s Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Vellum, Screen

You May Also Like
  • Abysmal, 2021 Contemporary digital print
    By Michael Davis
    Located in Palm Desert, CA
    Style: Contemporary, Modern, Conceptual Small study for the series “Rare Earth"
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Mixed Media

    Materials

    Metal

  • One: Yellow
    By Patrick Lichty
    Located in New York, NY
    Patrick is a conceptual artist, curator, and theorist exploring how media shape our perception of reality as well as the borders between the digital and the material. He is best know...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Abstract Prints

  • Ed Ruscha, Some Los Angeles Apartments - Artist's Book, Conceptual Art, Pop Art
    By Ed Ruscha
    Located in Hamburg, DE
    Ed Ruscha (American, b.1937) Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1965/1970 Medium: Artist’s book (black offset printing on 100 lb. white Vicksburg Vellum text paper) Dimensions: 17.8 x 14 x...
    Category

    20th Century Conceptual Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Offset

  • "Redness of Red" Lithograph Screenprint Collage Contemporary Abstract Abex 1/100
    By Robert Motherwell
    Located in New York, NY
    "Redness of Red" Lithograph Screenprint Collage Contemporary Abstract Abex 1/100 Redness of Red by Robert Burns Motherwell (1915-1991) Lithograph Scree...
    Category

    1980s Abstract Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Lithograph, Screen

  • Counters (Ovals)
    Located in Denver, CO
    Joel Swanson - Vinyl Letter Series My friend was cleaning out her studio one day and she gave me a stack of vinyl letter sheets, the commercial kind we use to label things. I started playing around with these sticky letters and realized I was more interested in remnants of language than the letter forms themselves. The French philosopher Jacques Derrida...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Mixed Media

    Materials

    Paper, Vinyl, Pencil

  • SheHadItBackwards, grey and pink abstract monotype on paper, pastel tones
    By Karin Bruckner
    Located in New York, NY
    Mixed media composite (acrylics, sumi ink and pencil on mylar, fused with Monotype mounted with white thread stitching) on white BFK Rives Printmaking Paper Paper: 15" x 19" At the...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Monotype, Thread, Mylar, Acrylic, Pencil

Recently Viewed

View All