This is a list of invisible artworks; that is, works of art that cannot be seen and, in many cases, touched.
Invisible artworks
edit| Artist | Title | Year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yves Klein | "Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle" (Zone of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility) | 1959 | Consists of the sale of documentation of ownership of empty space; the piece could be completed in a ritual in which the buyer would burn said documentation. |
| Marinus Boezem | "Show V: Immateriële ruimte" (Immaterial space) | 1965 | Consists of three "air doors" made from currents of cold and warm air blown into the room.[1] |
| Michael Asher | "Vertical Column of Accelerated Air" | 1966 | Drafts of pressurized air.[2] |
| Art & Language (group) | "Air-Conditioning Show" or "Air Show" | 1967 | An empty room with two air conditioning units; the artwork is "what is felt and said about it", and not anything tangible.[3] |
| James Lee Byars | "The Ghost of James Lee Byars" | 1969 | The artwork itself is the emptiness and darkness of a pitch-black room.[4][5] |
| Robert Barry | "Telepathic Piece" | 1969 | An artwork "the nature of which is a series of thoughts that are not applicable to language or image", which Barry would communicate telepathically to visitors during the exhibit.[6] |
| Andy Warhol | "Invisible Sculpture" | 1985 | Consists of an invisible, intangible sculpture atop a white pedestal.[3] |
| Tom Friedman | "Untitled (A Curse)" | 1992 | Similar to Warhol's sculpture, but a witch was reportedly hired to curse the space immediately above the pedestal.[3] |
| Teresa Margolles | "Aire" (Air) | 2003 | Similar to Air Show, the artwork consists of a room with air humidified with water used to wash corpses before autopsy.[7] |
| Jeppe Hein | "Invisible Labyrinth" | 2005 | A maze with invisible and intangible walls; visitors are given headphones that vibrate when they "touch" a wall.[2] |
| Roman Ondak | "More Silent Than Ever" | 2006 | The artwork consists of a covert listening device supposedly hidden somewhere in the (empty) exhibition room: visitors are told they are being eavesdropped. The device itself cannot be seen, and no evidence is given that it really exists.[8] |
| Salvatore Garau | "Buddha in Contemplazione" (Buddha in Contemplation) | 2021 | An invisible, intangible sculpture.[9] |
| Salvatore Garau | "Io Sono" (I am) | 2021 | Another invisible, intangible sculpture, that occupies a square area with side of 5 ft (1.5 m).[9] |
| Ruben Gutierrez | "This Sculpture Makes Me Cry (A Spell)" | 2022 | An immaterial, invisible sculpture atop a small white pedestal, displayed as part of a bigger exhibit. It is said to represent what the artist cannot see, but which affects him emotionally, making him feel invisible and insignificant.[10][11] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Marinus Boezem Solo Exhibition 'All Shows' at Kröller Müller Museum". Upstream Gallery. Amsterdam. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ a b Rugoff, Ralph (10 June 2012). "The 10 best… invisible artworks". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b c Blake, Robin (27 July 2012). "The power of sights unseen". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ White, Lindsey; Stein, Jordan; Kasprzak, David (eds.). "The Ghost of James Lee Byars: A Retrospective". Will Brown. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Budick, Ariella (25 June 2014). "James Lee Byars: 1/2 an Autobiography, MoMA PS1, New York – review". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Drinkall, Jacquelene; Neidich, Warren (2016). "Immaterial Technologies of Mindedness". Journal of Neuroaesthetics. Telepathy and Art. Artbrain.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "TERESA MARGOLLES - Muerte sin fin". Museum für Moderne Kunst. 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Grúň, Daniel (19 March 2009). "Roman Ondák: More Silent Than Ever". SME (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ a b Santora, Sara (1 June 2021). "Italian Artist Sells Invisible Sculpture for More Than $18,000". Newsweek. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Forzar la puerta del presente". Colector Gallery. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ Gutierrez, Ruben [@rubeneitor] (7 February 2022). "This Sculpture Makes Me Cry (A Spell) 2022" (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022 – via Instagram.