Rainbow Faucet

Copied Jim Dine, Rainbow Faucet, 1965, cast and painted aluminum, 2 1⁄2 x 6 x 5 in. (6.3 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1981.63.1

Artwork Details

Title
Rainbow Faucet
Artist
Date
1965
Location
Dimensions
2 1⁄2 x 6 x 5 in. (6.3 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak
Mediums
Mediums Description
cast and painted aluminum
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
  • Object — tool
Object Number
1981.63.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1981.63.1

Artwork Description

The title and subject of Rainbow Faucet show Jim Dine's interest in fusing imagination and everyday life. Dine chose a faucet as the focus for this piece because he spent much of his youth surrounded by tools in his grandfather's hardware store. The artist appreciates the formal and expressive potential of hardware and tools and keeps a stockpile of these in his studio for inspiration. However, he did not render the piece realistically, but rotated the fixture so that it stands upright. The plumbing fixture tapers to a droopy point and emits a rainbow-striped drop of water. Positioned vertically, the faucet looks goofy and resembles a phallus or an animal sticking out its tongue.