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
Daniel Mack, Eel Gig Chair, 1992, maple and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Frederick Wiedman, Jr. in memory of Richard Mack, 1999.33, © 1994, Daniel Mack
Eel Gig Chair
Date1992
maple and found objects
Not on view
George Nakashima, Minguren II Coffee Table, 1990, black walnut and East Indian rosewood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Diane and James Huning in memory of tea shared with George Nakashima in New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2010.62, © 1990, George Nakashima, Woodworker, S.A.
Minguren II Coffee Table
Date1990
black walnut and East Indian rosewood
Not on view
Peking
Date1993
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