Bureau of Bureaucracy

Kim Schmahmann, Bureau of Bureaucracy, 1993-1999, various hardwoods, veneers, marquetry, mother of pearl, gold leaf, and brass, 963624 in. (243.891.461.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor, 2000.48A-H, © 1993, Kim S. Schmahmann

Artwork Details

Title
Bureau of Bureaucracy
Date
1993-1999
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
963624 in. (243.891.461.0 cm)
Copyright
© 1993, Kim S. Schmahmann
Credit Line
Gift of an anonymous donor
Mediums Description
various hardwoods, veneers, marquetry, mother of pearl, gold leaf, and brass
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — civic
  • Allegory — civic
  • Object — written matter — book
Object Number
2000.48A-H

Artwork Description

Schmahmann’s Bureau of Bureaucracy re-interprets the sixteenth-century European “cabinet of curiosities,” used to house wondrous, exotic objects. Instead of rare stones and fossils, this cabinet holds certificates, diplomas, licenses, medical reports, and financial statements, bureaucratic documents that reflect and define our lives in contemporary society. Behind the functional exterior of this piece lies a surreal array of inverted perspectives, false drawers, and hidden compartments—the artist’s subtle commentary on the true nature of bureaucracies.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Works by this artist (1 item)

Kim Schmahmann, Bureau of Bureaucracy, 1993-1999, various hardwoods, veneers, marquetry, mother of pearl, gold leaf, and brass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor, 2000.48A-H, © 1993, Kim S. Schmahmann
Bureau of Bureaucracy
Date1993-1999
various hardwoods, veneers, marquetry, mother of pearl, gold leaf, and brass
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.

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Date1985
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Not on view
Jeffrey C. Tepper, Spiro Zakas, Side Table, ca. 1970, plastic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Spiro Zakas Association, 1971.82.17
Side Table
Dateca. 1970
plastic
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Dale Broholm, Upholstered Chair, 1996, walnut burl veneer, ash, Italian poplar plywood, leather, and milk paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marilyn and Paul O'Rourke and The Society of Arts and Crafts, 1998.114, © 1996, Dale Broholm
Upholstered Chair
Date1996
walnut burl veneer, ash, Italian poplar plywood, leather, and milk paint
Not on view
Sam Maloof, Texas Dining Chair, 1975, Brazilian rosewood and leather, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Blanche Pope in memory of Edker Pope, 2001.82G, © 1975, Sam Maloof
Texas Dining Chair
Date1975
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Not on view