Remainders: Novel, Sculpture, Film

Allen Rawson RuppersbergWW-1991-134447

1991·A multiple consisting of 128 books, 5 packing cartons, 1 table and 1 bookmark·114.3 × 121.9 × 76.2 cm (45 × 48 × 30 in.)

<p>Interested in notions of collection and consumption, Allen Ruppersberg reconsiders texts, songs, narratives, photographs, and memorabilia culled from American vernacular culture. <em>Remainders: Novel, Sculpture, Film</em> is an installation that mimics a publisher’s remainders display in a bookstore. The artist manipulated the presentation in provocative ways: inserting fictional titles and authors onto book covers; printing the back covers and inside jacket flaps of each book with the entire screenplay of a 1960s educational film that warns of the dangers of hallucinogenic drugs; and inserting into each book a series of full-page, black-and-white stills from the artist’s film archive. Installed in a museum setting, the texts become a sculptural work that is seen instead of read.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1991
Medium: A multiple consisting of 128 books, 5 packing cartons, 1 table and 1 bookmark
Dimensions: 114.3 × 121.9 × 76.2 cm (45 × 48 × 30 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Allen Rawson Ruppersberg

Artist

Allen Rawson Ruppersberg

Photography

Allen Rawson Ruppersberg is an American photographer and conceptual artist based in Los Angeles whose practice emerged from the intersection of language, narrative, and everyday documentation. Working primarily with photography since the 1970s, he constructs intricate installations and photo-based works that incorporate text, found objects, and performative elements to create layered commentaries on meaning and representation. His approach treats the photograph not as a transparent record but as a site for linguistic and conceptual investigation.

Los Angeles

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