Untitled

Robert Irwin, Untitled, 1980, mixed media: fiberboard, paper, plastic and fabric, 22 3422 1810 in. (57.856.225.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.49.6

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled
Artist
Date
1980
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
22 3422 1810 in. (57.856.225.4 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration
Mediums Description
mixed media: fiberboard, paper, plastic and fabric
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
  • Architecture Interior — civic — post office
Object Number
1980.49.6

Artwork Description

Robert Irwin believes that the viewer’s perceptions, rather than material objects, define a place. In 1983, for a General Services Administration commission at the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C., Irwin hung forty-eight panels of translucent fabric in rows from the atrium ceiling. Irwin intended the fabric to alter the way the viewer looked at the whole space. He hoped that because the panels appeared and disappeared, depending on the angle of sunlight coming through the skylight, the viewer’s eye would constantly move between the architecture and the fabric, increasing her awareness of the original architectural details of the atrium.

Works by this artist (8 items)

Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Sweeping Chavon, 1998, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2012.25.1
Sweeping Chavon
Date1998
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Prickly Pear and Olive, 1991, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2012.25.2
Prickly Pear and Olive
Date1991
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Shenandoah Spring, 1993, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2012.25.3
Shenandoah Spring
Date1993
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Under Cypresses, 1967, etching on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1979.79.3
Under Cypresses
Date1967
etching on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Bently
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.7
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Jared French, Margaret French, PaJaMa, Paul Cadmus, PaJaMa (Box A), ca. 1937, gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Margaret French, 1999.98.5.16
PaJaMa (Box A)
Dateca. 1937
gelatin silver prints
Not on view